FIRST PODIUM ASTRIDE APRILIA FOR EUGENE, 3RD AFTER A HEATED RACE 2.

Apr
2012

posted by Eugene | in 2012 News

Assen, 22 April 2012 – The Assen round Sunday will be long remembered for the continuous pendulum of emotions, both because of the uncertain weather and the great show on the track. The Aprilia Racing Team confirmed itself as a key player in spite of the difficulties Max Biaggi and Eugene Laverty faced throughout the weekend. The Northern Irish rider’s rostrum finish in Race 2 ended a day which returns the championship’s first place position to Biaggi, even if only by one point.

The first thing to note about race one is that it was red flagged due to rain with nine laps to go. After returning to the pits to put on the softer tyres for the wet, the riders lined up for a new start in the driving rain. Max and Eugene immediately demonstrated excellent pace in truly difficult grip and visibility conditions. Biaggi and Laverty rode past the chequered flag respectively in fourth and fifth place.

Race 2, on the other hand, started with no rain and quickly drying asphalt, so much that almost all the riders chose full slicks directly from the starting grid. Max, starting from the fifth row, was able to earn twelfth place within the first three laps, taking advantage of some mistakes made by the forerunners to end the race in eighth place. Eugene’s race was a battle of the top 5 with overtaking and fast laps galore. The rider from Northern Ireland skilfully managed a difficult race and flew to his first podium (third place) under the Aprilia Racing colours.

Checa’s seventeenth place in Race 2 returned the championship lead spot to Max Biaggi, albeit only one point in front of the Spaniard. The Aprilia Racing Team is also at the top of the team standings.

“Despite our provisional leadership we can’t really be euphoric – confesses Max – I struggled throughout the whole weekend and the two races were difficult as well. When you’re aiming for the world championship you have to set your sights on the biggest prize. Placings are important but the can’t become a constant. In any case, we are leaving Holland with some heavy spoils in points, and considering the difficulties we had this weekend we can’t complain. However, working to solve the problems that slowed us down is of utmost importance in order to come back and fight in the positions that count from here on out”.

Eugene Laverty is satisfied with his performance: “We worked really hard this weekend and after a difficult start I knew I could fight for the podium. The two races were difficult, especially the restart in Race 1 in the driving rain and truly precarious grip conditions, but in the end we’re leaving Assen with more certainty and my first podium for Aprilia. In Race 2 I had fun. I battled from the first to the last lap for third place. Now we’ll need to be good enough to continue on this path, earning important points for morale and the championship standings”.

Race Two Results

1. Jonathan Rea GBR Honda WSBK CBR1000RR 36m 45.936s
2. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +2.189s
3. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +12.638s
4. Marco Melandri ITA BMW Motorrad S1000RR +12.762s
5. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR +12.764s
6. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +20.393s
7. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia Goldbet S1000RR +36.317s
8. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +37.747s
9. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Ducati 1098R +41.350s
10. Michel Fabrizio ITA BMW Italia Goldbet S1000RR +43.930s
11. John Hopkins USA Crescent Fixi Suzuki GSX-R1000 +57.515s
12. David Salom ESP Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1m 32.593s
13. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Honda WSBK CBR1000RR +1m 33.576s
14. Leon Camier GBR Crescent Fixi Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1 lap
15. Leandro Mercado ARG Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1 lap

16. Mark Aitchison AUS Grillini Progea BMW S1000RR +1 lap
17. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R +1 lap

Not Classified

18. Lorenzo Zanetti ITA PATA Ducati 1098R 20 laps completed
19. Jakub Smrz CZE Liberty Effenbert Ducati 1098R 18 laps completed
20. Chaz Davies GBR ParkinGO MTC Aprilia RSV-4 11 laps completed
21. Maxime Berger FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 11 laps completed
22. Brett McCormick CAN Liberty Effenbert Ducati 1098R 9 laps completed
23. Niccolo Canepa ITA Red Devils Ducati 1098R 7 laps completed

Fastest lap
Carlos Checa GBR Althea Ducati 1098R 1m 38.092s

2012 World Superbike Championship rider standings (After round 3 of 14, previous championship standing in brackets)

1. (2) Max Biaggi Aprilia Racing 92 points
2. (1) Carlos Checa Althea Ducati 91
3. (3) Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing 79
4. (9) Sylvain Guintoli Effenbert Liberty Ducati 66
5. (5) Marco Melandri BMW Motorrad 66
6. (6) Jonathan Rea Honda WSBK 65
7. (4) Leon Haslam BMW Motorrad 58
8. (8) Eugene Laverty Aprilia Racing 56
9. (7) Jakub Smrz Liberty Effenbert Ducati 39
10. (17) Davide Giugliano Althea Ducati 37
11. (16) Michel Fabrizio BMW Italia GoldBet 26
12. (10) Maxime Berger Effenbert Liberty Ducati 25
13. (13) Hiroshi Aoyama Honda WSBK 22
14. (11) Lorenzo Zanetti PATA Ducati 20
15. (15) Niccolo Canepa Red Devils Roma Ducati 20
16. (12) Joan Lascorz Kawasaki Racing 17
17. (14) Leon Camier Crescent Fixi Suzuki 14
18. (23) Ayrton Badovini BMW Italia GoldBet 11
19. (21) Leandro Mercado Pedercini Kawasaki 9
20. (22) David Salom Pedercini Kawasaki 9
21. (19) John Hopkins Crescent Fixi Suzuki 8
22. (18) Bryan Staring Pedercini Kawasaki 6
23. (20) Chaz Davies ParkinGO MTC Aprilia 2
24. (24) Josh Brookes Crescent Fixi Suzuki 1
25. (-) Mark Aitchison Grillini Progea BMW 1