Biaggi, Checa take honours
Carlos Checa bounced back from a crash to win race two at Phillip Island but it is Max Biaggi who leads the World Superbikes standings.
Last Updated: 26/02/12 11:31am
Carlos Checa bounced back from a crash to win race two at Phillip Island but it is Max Biaggi who leads the standings after the opening round of the World Superbikes season.
Biaggi won the first race by an impressive seven seconds and then worked his way back through the field after swerving to avoid a crash in the second to chase home reigning champion Checa.
Biaggi beat fellow Italian Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad) in the opener, who edged out Effenbert Liberty's Sylvain Guintoli for second.
Britain's Tom Sykes was fourth for Kawasaki, having started on pole after the Superpole session was cancelled due to the death of 17-year-old Superstock 600 rider Oscar McIntyre in the preceding support race.
Jakub Smrz was fifth while reigning series champion Checa crashed out spectacularly while leading the race early on.
Biaggi, having started race two from second, ran off course on the first lap after swerving to avoid Sykes and found himself last, but worked his way back through the field to his original grid position.
He was a clear distance behind Checa, though, the Spaniard with time to wheelie through the final bend.
Sykes pipped fellow Briton Jonathan Rea to third place almost on the line to lie third in the fledgling series standings on 29 points, four ahead of Checa and just one behind Melandri.
"I'm very, very happy," said Biaggi. "I did so much hard work to get into the top five (in the second race), I gave everything I had."
Checa added: "I'm really satisfied after the crash in race one. To leave this track with a crash was not the best feeling but after winning I'm feeling very, very well."
Race One: 1 Max Biaggi (Ita) Aprilia 34mins 13.963secs, 2 Marco Melandri (Ita) BMW 34:21.067, 3 Sylvain Guintoli (Fra) Ducati 34:21.341, 4 Tom Sykes (Gbr) Kawasaki 34:26.152, 5 Jakub Smrz (Cze) Ducati 34:30.387, 6 Michel Fabrizio (Ita) BMW 34:34.163, 7 Jonathan Rea (Gbr) Honda 34:34.186, 8 Hiroshi Aoyama (Jpn) Honda 34:38.071, 9 Davide Giugliano (Ita) Ducati 34:42.035, 10 Bryan Staring (Aus) Kawasaki 34:48.195, 11 Lorenzo Zanetti (Ita) Ducati 34:48.413, 12 Leon Haslam (Gbr) BMW 34:49.611, 13 Maxime Berger (Fra) Ducati 34:50.355, 14 David Salom (Spa) Kawasaki 34:55.463, 15 Joan Lascorz (Spa) Kawasaki 34:56.049
Race Two: 1 Carlos Checa (Spa) Ducati 34mins 26.728secs, 2 Max Biaggi (Ita) Aprilia 34:32.435, 3 Tom Sykes (Gbr) Kawasaki 34:39.249, 4 Jonathan Rea (Gbr) Honda 34:39.383, 5 Leon Haslam (Gbr) BMW 34:44.907, 6 Marco Melandri (Ita) BMW 34:45.559, 7 Maxime Berger (Fra) Ducati 34:45.667, 8 Eugene Laverty (Gbr) Aprilia 34:46.206, 9 Hiroshi Aoyama (Jpn) Honda 34:46.282, 10 Niccolo Canepa (Ita) Ducati 34:53.017, 11 Jakub Smrz (Cze) Ducati 34:53.207, 12 Leon Camier (Gbr) Suzuki 34:55.873, 13 Davide Giugliano (Ita) Ducati 35:03.210, 14 Lorenzo Zanetti (Ita) Ducati 35:04.841, 15 Joshua Brookes (Aus) Suzuki 35:09.962
Drivers Championship Standings: 1 Max Biaggi (Ita) Aprilia 45pts, 2 Marco Melandri (Ita) BMW 30, 3 Tom Sykes (Gbr) Kawasaki 29, 4 Carlos Checa (Spa) Ducati 25, 5 Jonathan Rea (Gbr) Honda 22, 6 Sylvain Guintoli (Fra) Ducati 16, 6 Jakub Smrz (Cze) Ducati 16, 8 Hiroshi Aoyama (Jpn) Honda 15, 8 Leon Haslam (Gbr)
