only here in spirit *hic*
|
JUN
22
2009
World Superbikes UK Round.
This weekend in Misano, saw the best showing of the British riders this year. In Race one, Shakey disappeared off into the the distance on a wet, but drying track.
Then when the track got too dry, they all started to come in to change over to their "Dry" bikes. Shakey was one of the last to do so, and ended up losing the lead to Ben Spies. But he at least managed second.
Johnny Rea however had an abysmal race. Despite Qualifying second, he had to start from the Pit Lane, and in the process incurred a drive-through penalty for speeding..... and then when he swapped over bikes, the other bike stalled, and had to be "re-booted". But he still finished 7th.
The Second Race was an absolute corker. It was just the two Works Ducatis of Haga and Fabrizio vs. Johnny Rea. Haga had the first 3 laps in the lead, then Rea for about 14 laps, the Fabrizio..... until the start of the final lap, when Rea outbraked him, and spent the final lap in the lead.
Rea's bike is pretty much sorted now, with new forks, so he goes into the Donnington Round - This coming weekend - no doubt feeling pretty good, especially with a Win. Obviously Ben Spies is the number one threat, but I dare say all of the Brits will be more confident on the home track.
The big success this year has been Spies on the Yamaha R1, and the data for the development of the bike has been passed down to the Airwaves team in BSB, which has helped Camier to be so dominant this year, with some good back-up from his team-mate Ellison.
I don't know if there are any other "Wild-card" entries in the Superbike race this weekend, but I am looking forward to seeing how the top BSB Yamaha of Camier will compare to the top WSBK of Spies. Add to that a flying Johnny Rea, and there could be some fantastic racing this Sunday !
|