DAVIDE Giugliano set the pace in Superpole yesterday, taking his first pole position of the season for Althea Racing. He was unable to convert this strong qualifying into a race result however, going down early on and throwing away his chances of converting pole to the race win.
The race began in dry conditions, but from early on the attrition rate was high, and a collision between Jules Cluzel and Carlos Checa took the Spanish rider out of the race on the first lap after he’d put the Panigale sixth on the starting grid. Ultimately only 11 of the 18 starters would cross the finish line, as the heavens opened ten laps from the end of the race and eventually forced all the riders into the pits to change onto wet tyres in the first flag-to-flag race in WSB.
Welshman Chaz Davies had been leading by almost ten seconds prior to the pit stops, but as the rain poured down it was Davies’ team-mate Marco Melandri that would emerge to take his third victory of the season. The field spread out considerably behind him, with Davies four seconds back and a surprise performance by Ayrton Badovini to take the first podium of the year for Alstare Ducati on the Panigale.
It was a torrid time for Tom Sykes, who had been riding a wave of success and confidence going into the event. An unusual crash in Superpole left him ninth on the grid, and just three laps into the race his Kawasaki had a mechanical failure forcing him to pull off the track. The usually effervescent Yorkshireman was clearly angry with the outcome, appearing to hold the throttle open until the initial engine failure became a catastrophic blow-up.
The rain did not abate as the day went on, and a serious crash in World Supersport saw Andrea Antonelli struck by another bike causing fatal injury. The decision was then made not to continue racing, and our sincerest condolences go out to Andrea’s team, friends and family.
World Superbike Moscow – race one result:
Moscow - FIM Superbike World Championship - Race 1
- Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) BMW S1000 RR 46'03.043
- Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) BMW S1000 RR 46'10.484
- Ayrton Badovini (Team Ducati Alstare) Ducati 1199 Panigale R 46'15.797
- Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) Honda CBR1000RR 46'24.360
- Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 46'50.499
- Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 47'04.042
- Max Neukirchner (MR-Racing) Ducati 1199 Panigale R 47'07.805
- Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 47'07.990
- Leon Camier (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 47'12.183
- Jules Cluzel (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 46'26.550
- Federico Sandi (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 48'04.828
DNF
Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 26'02.247
Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) Honda CBR1000RR 26'04.095
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 4'52.190
Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'37.722
Lorenzo Savadori (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R
Vittorio Iannuzzo (Grillini Dentalmatic SBK) BMW S1000 RR
Carlos Checa (Team Ducati Alstare) Ducati 1199 Panigale R
