WSB: Riders lash out at treacherous conditions

THE second race at the Nurburgring was stopped through torrential rain that hit the German circuit, but the riders believe that the race should have been brought to a close much earlier rather than letting them complete two-thirds distance in the treacherous conditions.

Victims of the heavy downpour included Leon Camier, Leon Haslam, Jonathan Rea, James Toseland, Mark Aitchinson, Makoto Tamada and the unlucky race leader Noriyuki Haga all crashing out, although Haslam and Rea were able to rejoin.

The factory Yamaha pair were also visibly pleading with the race organisers to end the race, waving their arms as they battled down the main straight.

Joining the majority of the riders in their vocal criticism of allowing the race to go ahead in the dangerously wet conditions, Laverty said: "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."

Speaking on camera to Italian TV, Yamaha team-mate Marco Melandri vented his frustrations on race control: "They treated us like idiots, they were criminals. When it stopped raining they red flagged the race, only because 75% of the race was completed and by then the track was becoming pretty good and the critical moment was over. It’s not right, ruining the races like this. Shit, when Eugene [Laverty] and I started to complain … and I think others also complained… it should have been stopped and then re-started, we knew that it wouldn’t have rained that hard all day."