DOUBLE POINTS FOR GREG AT BRNO
Vent Axia VK Energy rider Gregorio Lavilla added to his Hannspree
World Superbike Championship points tally with a pair of battling
points finishes at Brno in the Czech Republic today.
Riding Paul Bird's Honda Fireblade, the team struggled with
the bike set-up from the beginning of the weekend and the
Spaniard ended up in a disappointing 19th after qualifying
meaning he missed out on Superpole.
In race one, Lavilla didn't get a great start and only moved
up one place on the opening lap into 18th position. A group
of riders crashed out on lap three putting Lavilla into 14th
position but despite experiencing some technical problems,
he rode consistently and managed to bring the bike home in
the points.
In the second race, Lavilla made a poor start to end the
first lap in 21st position but after several of the top riders
dropped out, Lavilla put in his usually fast and consistent
lap times and a strong run in the closing laps which brought
him from 16th to a solid 14th and point scoring finish.
Lavilla now occupies 13th in the title chase with Bird's
team still in top spot as Honda's number one privateer team
in the series.
Gregorio Lavilla:
"It has been an up and down weekend and unfortunately
we missed out on Superpole once again which is disappointing.
Race one was a real challenge as we had some technical problems
and I was a little held up by a crash in front of me which
covered me and the bike in oil. We went back to yesterday's
settings in Race two and we found a good pace once again and
I did the best I could to finish in 14th from 21st on lap
one. The whole team is looking forward to Brands Hatch as
it's a race track both the team and myself know very well
so we will be hoping for a good result there."
Paul Bird:
"The weekend was a bit disappointing and frustrating
with a poor qualifying position again. It was also unfortunate
that we had some technical problems during the races but as
usual Greg put in two consistent performances to finish in
the points and we still remain the top finishing Honda privateer
team. Everyone is looking forward to Brands Hatch and we expect
to do well there as it's a track both Greg and the team have
had some great results in the past in both WSB and BSB. We
are also looking at running a second rider for the British
rounds which will be confirmed later this week so the team
are feeling really positive and excited about the next few
races."
The next round of the Hannspree World Superbike Championship
takes place over the weekend of 1/2/3 August at Brands Hatch
with a big British crowd expected.
Superbike Race One
1, T Bayliss (Ducati) 40m22.724s, 2, T Corser (Yamaha) +1.468s,
3, M Fabrizio (Ducati) +3.272s, 4, M Biaggi (Ducati) +3.475s,
5, R Kiyonari (Honda) +3.791s, 6, N Haga (Yamaha) +9.120s,
7, M Neukirchner (Suzuki) +9.358s, 8, C Checa (Honda) +11.787s,
9, Y Kagayama (Suzuki) +17.228s, 10, K Sofuoglu (Honda) +17.705s.
15, G Lavilla (Vent Axia VK Honda) +36.545s.
Superbike Race Two
1, T Bayliss (Ducati) 40m16.436s, 2, M Fabrizio (Ducati) +0.928s,
3, M Biaggi (Ducati) +1.259s, 4, T Corser (Yamaha) +1.785s,
5, M Neukirchner (Suzuki) +3.942s, 6, R Kiyonari (Honda) +7.910s,
7, N Haga (Yamaha) +11.297s, 8, F Nieto (Suzuki) +11.375s,
9, Y Kagayama (Suzuki) +13.103s, 10, K Sofuoglu (Honda) +18.978s.
14, G Lavilla (Vent Axia VK Honda) +26.372s.
Championship Standings after Round 9
1, T Bayliss (Aus) 309pts
2, M Neukirchner (GER) 230pts
3, T Corser (AUS) 219pts
4, C Checa (ESP) 215pts
5, N Haga (JPN) 210pts
6, F Nieto (ESP) 161pts
7, R Xaus (ESP) 148pts
8, M Fabrizio (ITA) 147pts
9, M Biaggi (ITA) 146pts
10, R Kiyonari (JPN) 115pts
13, G Lavilla (ESP) 78pts
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