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+--- Thread: Impressive Performance for Yamaha WSB Riders in Contrasting Race Conditions (/showthread.php?tid=11893)
Impressive Performance for Yamaha WSB Riders in Contrasting Race Conditions - Malcolm - 06-09-2011
![[Image: yamaharacinghdr.jpg]](http://www.ttwebsite.com/gifs/yamaharacinghdr.jpg)
Yamaha World Superbike riders encountered a challenging and eventful race day at the Nurburgring today as the dramatic second race was performed in treacherous conditions on extremely wet asphalt.
Melandri and Laverty completed the first race of the day, held on a dry track, in second and fourth places respectively. The opening laps of the race saw the two Yamaha WSB riders interchange their third and fourth positions on several occasions. An error on Laverty’s behalf at the "Warsteiner bend" on lap 6 caused him to go wide, allowing Melandri to take possession of third place, before closing in on Haga and climbing to second. Two laps later on the same corner Melandri made a similar mistake, causing him to fall back to fourth place and preventing him from battling for the victory. The Italian put his head down and battled it out with Laverty and then Haga to re- claim second place by the 16th lap. Determined, he fought hard to keep his Japanese competitor at bay before crossing the finish line and claiming a spectacular second place on the podium.
The second race of the day was held in treacherous conditions. A difficult start from front row on the grid saw Melandri fall back to seventh place while team-mate Laverty sat in fourth. As heavy rain drenched the German circuit rendering poor visibility and an extreme lack of grip, six riders; Fabrizio, Toseland, Aitchison, Camier, Tamada and finally race leader Haga, crashed out of contention. The Yamaha World Superbike riders prudently completed a race that seemed like a battle to remain standing. Despite the adverse track, the race was not red flagged until the 14th lap. Eugene Laverty successfully reached the finish line in fifth place with his team-mate close behind in sixth.
Marco Melandri leaves the Nurburgring having jumped up to second place on the championship standings with 302 points, 74 behind Checa in the lead and holding a 21 point advantage over Biaggi, who was unable to race today due to injury. Laverty has maintained his fourth position with a total of 232 points. With this weekend’s impressive results, Yamaha are still second in the Manufacurer’s standings having further extended the gap from third place by 15 points and the Yamaha World Superbike Team have confirmed the lead in the Team standings and hold a 99 point advantage.
Marco Melandri - Yamaha World Superbike Team - 2nd, 6th
"Race 1 wasn’t easy so I’m very happy with my podium. I got off to a good start but I wasn’t so fast for the first few laps. I made a mistake and lost the front while braking and went wide so I lost a lot of time. I then caught Eugene and eventually Noriyuki but Carlos was too far ahead. I have to thank my team, they worked hard again and did a great job all weekend! I tried to keep going and finish without crashing. I had an issue with the electronics on the bike and the display wasn’t working well so I was extra cautious in order to stay up. I feel it was an incorrect judgment of the rider’s safety to complete two thirds of the race in these conditions. I am very disappointed, in my opinion the race should have been stopped at the beginning for safety reasons."
Eugene Laverty - Yamaha World Superbike Team - 4th, 5th
"I was unfortunate in race one because my pace was good all weekend. I didn’t have as good a feeling on the bike as I had yesterday and the low track temperature didn’t’ help to improve the grip on the rear tyre. The second race was treacherous and on safety grounds I think it should have been stopped. I got the impression there was oil on the track after Rea came off his bike and re-joined so everyone was crashing out. We did well that all the riders are coming away without major injuries but I’m upset that we had to risk so much."
Andrea Dosoli - Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"Marco did really well on this track which he was unfamiliar with before now. He achieved an important podium but it’s a shame that an error on lap 8 prevented him from battling with Carlos for the victory, a target which he could have reached. Eugene was also on top form even if he could not display his full potential in the race. He did not have the same feeling with the bike that he had yesterday. The second race was dramatic. The riders completed 14 laps over the limits of security. From the 11th lap onwards the weather got worse and as a consequence it was even riskier for the riders. I’m relieved that both riders managed the dangerous situation so well without getting injured and gained important points for the championship. For the future we need to find a way to avoid these risks for the rider’s safety. I am satisfied to be leaving Nurburgring in second place in both the riders and manufacturers standings and have further increased our advantage in the team standings."
Another Spectacular Victory for Davies at the Nurburgring
Chaz Davies performed spectacularly in today’s race at the historic German circuit to deliver his fifth victory and eighth podium of the 2011 World Supersport Championship.
After a less than perfect start off second place on this afternoon’s grid, Davies fell back to seventh position. The Welshman made short work of the bunch of competitors just ahead and climbed to fourth place by the end of the second lap. Driven with determination, Davies put his head down and proceeded to close in on and overtake Foret, Rea and Ellison to take the lead by lap six. Fighting hard to hold off a feisty Ellison, title contender Davies drove his powerful R6 to the finish line and snatched the chequered flag just 0.091 seconds ahead of fellow Brit.
Team-mate Luca Scassa was also on flying form today. Falling back to 10th place off the grid, the Italian gradually worked his way back up through the pack. Scassa completed the race in fourth place after a tough battle at times with Roccoli in fifth place and Fabien Foret in sixth.
Chaz Davies has a strong hold on his championship lead and leaves Nurburgring with 171 points, 59 ahead of Salom in second place, with a potential of just 75 points to be gained in the remaining three rounds. Scassa is in fifth place with 96 points, just 16 points from second. Yamaha are leading the Manufacturers standings on 201 points with a 32 point advantage.
Chaz Davies - Yamaha ParkinGO Team - 1st
"I’m extremely happy with the win. Unfortunately I got off to a bad start and lost quite a few places. I put my head down and worked my way back up and enjoyed a close battle with Gino and James. I could hear James tailing me, hoped to break away and lead the race all the way, but that wasn’t easy. I was pleased to see it was James behind me, it is his first podium of the year. I’d like to dedicate this victory to my special friend Claire Barlow, who very sadly passed away a few weeks ago."
Luca Scassa - Yamaha ParkinGO Team - 4th
"I’m satisfied with the race because I had a good pace. Unfortunately I didn’t take the first corner well and didn’t want to collide with Chaz. I wanted to get ahead and tried to pass him on the inside, which probably wasn’t a good idea. I apologize to him for this incident. Then when I opened the throttle it was too slow and everyone passed me out. I eventually managed to put in better lap times and made up some positions. From mid race I was coming back nicely. Now I’m just 16 points from second place in the championship, so I’m satisfied and will work hard to climb back up there in the next three races."