Monza Results
World Superbike & Supersport 2013
www.motorcycle-usa.com By Byron Wilson
BMW Motorrad GoldBet’s Marco Melandri and Aprilia Racing’s Eugene
Laverty each took wins in Round 4 of the 2013 eni FIM Superbike World
Championship at Monza. Melandri prevailed in Race 1 after one of the closest
battles seen yet this season and Race 2 proved just as exciting, as Laverty
faced heavy pressure from multiple challengers in the final laps of the
contest.
Race 1
Melandri’s Race 1 win marks his first ever at Monza in World Superbike, which
he earned just 0.085 seconds ahead of Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes. Laverty finished on
the podium in third, one-tenth of a second off Melandri’s pace. The three
riders were essentially side-by-side as they crossed the finish line after a
memorable final lap battle that saw positions change a number of times.
Melandri, Sykes and Laverty each spent time at the head of the pack through the
contest, with the Aprilia ace claiming the lead through the opening seven laps.
His teammate, Sylvain Guintoli, mixed it up with the front-runners for much of
the race as well, leading three laps of his own before Melandri pushed to the
top on Lap 11.
The Italian rider sought to open a gap through the next four laps, but
couldn’t shake the hard-charging Sykes and Laverty and briefly lost the lead
with four laps remaining when Sykes pushed up from third. Sykes’ stint out
front was short-lived though, and Laverty gained the lead on the penultimate
lap.
Melandri was third entering the final lap, but he quickly made a move on Sykes
in the first turn, moving up to second. Soon after he got the best of Laverty
and gained the lead, only to see the Irishman answer back a soon after. In the
final corner Melandri found a line inside which got him just far enough ahead
of Laverty to secure the victory. Sykes powered though the final turn as well,
getting enough speed before the finish to best Laverty for the runner-up spot.
Guintoli settled into a comfortable fourth-place during the final laps,
finishing well ahead of Melandri’s teammate, Chaz Davies. Red Devils Roma’s
Michel Fabrizio ended Race 1 in sixth while Sykes’ teammate, Loris Baz, grabbed
seventh-place.
Pata Honda’s Jonathan Rea finished in eighth, though was battling with Davies
for a top-five position mid-race before incurring a penalty for running
off track in the chicane. Officials forced him to drop back two positions as a
result of the infraction. FIXI Crescent Suzuki’s Jules Cluzel was also
penalized for cutting a corner. He was battling inside the top-10 but then
dropped back to last-place after completing his ride-through.
Cluzel’s teammate, Leon Camier, finished in ninth, followed by Althea Racing’s
Davide Giugliano in 10th.
World Superbike Monza Race 1 Results 2013:
1. Marco Melandri (BMW)
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)
3. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia)
4. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia)
5. Chaz Davies (BMW)
6. Michel Fabrizio (Aprilia)
7. Loris Baz (Kawasaki)
8. Jonathan Rea (Honda)
9. Leon Camier (Suzuki)
10. Davide Giugliano (Aprilia)
11. Ayrton Badovini (Ducati)
12. Max Neukirchner (Ducati)
13. Fabrizio Lai (Kawasaki)
14. Kosuke Akiyoshi (Honda)
15. Federico Sandi (Kawasaki)
16. Mark Aitchison (Ducati)
17. Jules Cluzel (Suzuki)
Race 2
Aprilia commanded the front for all of Race 2, with Laverty and Guintoli
swapping the lead a number of times before the finish. Laverty came through
with the win ahead of Melandri while Sykes rounded out the podium. Guintoli,
while in podium position for the majority of the race, fell back to fourth on
the final lap.
Laverty opened things up once again, holding the lead through the first
seven laps. Guintoli was back in sixth after the Lap 1, but managed to push his
way through the pack and gain the front on Lap 8. Melandri and Sykes were close
at hand, the two assuming the number two and three spots through the first
portion of the contest. Once Guintoli had the lead, he and Laverty duked it out
in a back-and-forth battle for the advantage, with Melandri ever-present in
third just a fraction of a second back. Guintoli led through Lap 16, but then
slipped back to third-place as Laverty and Melandri moved past. Sykes, who was
holding in fourth, made his move soon after, pinching a podium finish from
Guintoli on the last lap.
The battle for fifth-place was also close, with Fabrizio, Giugliano and Camier
running close through the latter portion of the race. Davies was in the mix as
well until crashing out of competition. Fabrizio ended ahead in fifth, with
Giugliano following in sixth and Camier in seventh. Baz secured eighth ahead of
Badovini in ninth. MR-Racing’s Max Neurkirchner rouned out the top-10.
Along with Davies, Cluzel also crashed out of the race, as did Pata Honda
replacement rider Kosuke Akiyoshi. Rea pulled out after entering the pits mid
race, as did Team Effenbert Liberty’s Mark Aitchison.
Guintoli remains the overall points leader in the series, but Laverty has
inched closer, sitting just 13 points back in second. Sykes is third an
additional five points back while Melandri jumped up to fourth ahead of Davies,
in fifth.
World Superbike Monza Race 2 Results 2013:
1. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia)
2. Marco Melandri (BMW)
3. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)
4. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia)
5. Michel Fabrizio (Aprilia)
6. Davide Giugliano (Aprilia)
7. Leon
Camier (Suzuki)
8. Loris Baz (Kawasaki)
9. Ayrton Badovini (Ducati)
10. Max Neukirchner (Ducati)
11. Fabrizio Lai (Kawasaki)
12. Vittorio Iannuzzo (BMW)
13. Federico Sandi (Kawasaki)
World Superbike Championship Points 2013:
1. Sylvain Guintoli, 137
2. Eugene Laverty, 124
3. Tom Sykes, 119
4. Marco Melandri, 96
5. Chaz Davies, 94
6. Loris Baz, 75
7. Michel Fabrizio, 74
8. Jonathan Rea, 71
9. Davide Giugliano, 49
10. Leon Camier, 46
World Supersport Monza Results 2013
Sam Lowes took his second consecutive World Supersport win of the 2013 season
at Monza.
Yakhnich Motorsport’s Sam Lowes took his second consecutive World Supersport
win of the 2013 season at Monza, beating Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres’ Florian
Marino by 0.798 seconds. Pata Honda World Supersport’s Lorenzo Zanetti grabbed
a spot on the rostrum in third.
MAHI Racing Team India rider and defending World Supersport champion, Kenan
Sofuoglu, flew off the start to the front, holding the lead through the opening
three laps. The Turkish rider then crashed in Turn 8 and was able to
rejoin briefly, but after a few minutes returned to the pits and retired from
competition. Lowes, meanwhile, had battled up to second-place just before
Sofuoglu’s accident, so was in position to take the front once the Kawasaki
rider went down. Lowes held steady out front for the remaining six laps.
Marino and Zanetti tussled with fourth-place finisher Riccardo Russo of
Puccetti Racing Kawasaki throughout the race, exchanging positions a number of
times before settling into their final slots on the last lap. Kawasaki
DMC-Lorenzini’s Kev Coughlan finished in fifth-place, followed by PTR Honda’s
Sheridan Morais in sixth. Lowes’ teammate, Vladimir Leonov, finished seventh.
Lowes now leads the series by 16 points over Sofuoglu’s teammate, Fabien Foret.
Pata Honda rider Michael van der Mark remains third overall while Sofuoglu sits
fourth.
World Supersport Monza Results 2013:
1. Sam Lowes (Yamaha)
2. Florian Marino (Kawasaki)
3. Lorenzo Zanetti (Honda)
4. Riccardo Russo (Kawasaki)
5. Kev Coughlan (Kawasaki)
6. Sheridan Morais (Honda)
7. Vladimir Leonov (Yamaha)
8. Luca Scassa (Kawasaki)
9. Vladimir Ivanov (Kawasaki)
10. Luca Marconi (Honda)
11. Roberto Rolfo (MV Agusta)
12. Mathew Scholtz (Suzuki)
13. Christian Iddon (MV Agusta)
14. David Linortner (Honda)
15. Raffaele de Rosa (Honda)
World Supersport Championship Points 2013:
1. Sam Lowes, 70
2. Fabien
Foret, 54
3. Michael van der Mark, 49
4. Kenan Sofuoglu, 45
5. Lorenzo Zanetti, 40
6. Luca Scassa, 34
7. Florian Marino, 31
8. Andrea Antonelli, 29
9. Riccardo Russo, 26
10. Jack Kennedy, 24
