The 2011 World Superbike season finale at Portimao, Portugal ended with reigning World Champion Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri splitting a win each and Checa with his 15th victory of season bettering Ben Spies and Troy Bayliss record number of wins from 2009 and 2002.
Portimao was also about silly season, with the official announcements that Checa will be staying with Althea Racing, Eugene Laverty signed with Aprilia, Hiroshi Aoyama will be riding for Ten Kate Honda, Michel Fabrizio with BMW Italia and Troy Corser is retiring and we’ll probably find out more about other contracts in the following days.
Check out what some of the riders had to say about today’s final double header and you’ll find race 2 video highlights and rider and manufacturer standings after the jump.
Carlos Checa (1st and 4th)“Race 1 wasn’t at all easy because at the start I was having trouble with the tyre but we knew that it would perform better in the final stages and our decision turned out to be the right one.
I was able to reach first Marco and Johnny and then Sylvain to win the race with a small advantage.
This victory is for the team that has truly deserved it this weekend – I dedicate this win to all of them.
In race 2 I was pushing hard but we’d changed tyre and with the softer solution I couldn’t do more than I did.
This weekend has been very special; before Race 1 it looked like there was no way that I could stay with Althea Racing in 2012 and I was very upset about this but now it seems that Althea Racing and Ducati have come to an agreement and I am over the moon to hear that I can stay with my team and with my bike again next year.
We have built something very special here and to leave would have been heartbreaking.
More than a win, today has been a moral victory – in the space of two days I have lost, and thankfully regained my team.
” Marco Melandri (6th and 1st)“It was a fantastic race win and end to the championship.
The bike was working well and I really wanted one more win before finishing up the season.
I would have liked a double but race one didn’t go so well.
I got a good start and was planning on waiting a few laps before pushing harder and fighting for a win but unfortunately the rear tyre was gone by mid race I had very little grip and just couldn’t keep pushing.
The team has worked really hard all year and I’d like to thank them and everyone at Yamaha for the amazing season together and for all their help and support in the tough time since YME decided to withdraw at the end of this year.
”Jonathan Rea (3rd and 3rd)I felt I rode race one just about as well as I could have, but Sylvain showed massive pace at the start before Carlos came by too, so well done to them for their results.
It was nice to be able to challenge for victory in both races, although I think in race two it was pretty clear where we were losing out to the others.
I felt I rode well and the bike was working great in some sectors, but not in others where we needed it to.
This year’s been such a journey for me, with a lot of ups and downs, so it’s just great to go into the off season with no injuries and the bike on the podium here.
I’d like to thank everyone who has made the journey with me this season and to the team and all its partners for their support.
I can’t wait for 2012 to start now.
Eugene Laverty (DNF and 2nd)“Well it was a great end to the season for Yamaha with a one two race finish in race two.
It’s been a fantastic year and I’d like to thank Yamaha and all the team for that.
Obviously it would have been great to finish up with one more point to get third in the championship, but unfortunately I lost out on a lot of points in race one.
I had an issue with the bike on lap three, coming into the VIP tower corner when the rear of the machine came off the ground and the bike suddenly snapped sideways.
I was lucky not have crashed and managed to stay on the bike but the viciousness of the incident broke the steering damper and I had to come back in and have it changed.
It’s a pity as the pace was quick and I could have definitely been on the podium.
”Max Biaggi (4th and 7th)“It’s a shame about the start in the second race, decidedly worse than the first.
During both comebacks I obviously stressed the tyres quite a bit, but in any case I was able to bring a fourth and seventh place home after starting from the seventeenth block on the grid.
Lap times were good, but unfortunately in Race 2 I began to feel my lack of physical preparation.
It was a positive weekend because, having taken third place in the overall standings, I’ll be able to keep the number 3 on my fairing for the 2012 season.
” Joan Lascorz (5th and 8th)“In race one I lost a lot of rear grip and it was difficult at times.
In the last lap Biaggi came past me on the gas.
But a top five like in Donington and in Aragon, which is good.
In race two we had the same tyre choice but made a little change in suspension set-up.
Another not so good start and I think on the first lap I was 12th.
Near the end of the race I was a little faster but just not enough to finish any higher.
”Tom Sykes (8th and DNF)“Race one was a big learning session and we struggled a bit all weekend with front end feel.
We are definitely not where I need to be with the feeling of the bike.
Badovini passed me in turn one and put me wide and onto the dirty bit of the track, so I lost places.
It was unfortunate but we had a great start and got up to fifth position at one time.
I was consistent at the end of the race and every lap gives us information.
We all know where we need to be and the team has a very good understanding of what I need from the bike.
I finished eighth when I was back in 11th and it is quite promising.
Race two was unlucky for us but that’s racing sometimes.
”Leon Haslam (9th and 15th)“We knew that it was going to be a tough weekend and, as we had expected, we were struggling with the bike already in race one.
From the first lap on we had to fight and it was a long, hard race.
It was just about bringing it home and trying to get as many points as possible.
We were in the top ten, so we improved from where we qualified.
At the start of the second race I was struggling so much that I ran off the track.
That put me way back.
Throughout the race the consistency was a little bit better, but I lost the front quite often and the rear tyre had blistered.
There were too many issues to get a good result.
Now I am looking forward to the future and to the 2012 season, which starts on Tuesday with our test here.
”Michel Fabrizio (11th and 14th)“I am disappointed to end the season like this because today could’ve been so much better.
I didn’t feel confident this weekend and although there was an improvement today, it was not enough for me.
Between the warm-up and race one, we changed the bike back to the set-up we used in the second free practice, because that was the one that worked the best for me.
In race one, my right wrist started getting sore and I was having difficulty on the brakes and getting the bike to turn quickly enough.
It was very hard controlling the bike, so I suppose 11th wasn’t so bad.
We changed the front and rear a bit for race two – just a few clicks – so that I didn’t have to exert so much pressure on the bars and it felt better.
I just wished I didn’t have to end the last race weekend of the season like this.
”Leon Camier (12th and 6th)“Two odd races for me, because for long sections of the race I was among the fastest on the track,” he said.
“Unfortunately, starting from behind it’s always difficult to recover positions, especially in Race 1 because in the first stages I lost time going wide.
I would have liked to end this experience on the podium.
Unfortunately we weren’t able to demonstrate our true potential this year.
I’d like to thank everybody anyway: my team for their constant support and Aprilia Racing for giving me the opportunity to race in World Superbike.
”Noriyuki Haga (15th and 11th)“I wasn’t expecting such an end of the season.
I suffered lack of grip all weekend long and that led me to a lot of tyre wear.
I want to thank the whole team for the hard work done all this season”.
Davide Giugliano (16th and 12th )“Race 2 went very well apart from a small mistake on my part; if it hadn’t been for that I could have done even better, Anyway I kept a good pace and was able to lap as fast as many of those ahead of me and I am pleased about that.
The first race was very difficult but I realize that I need to gain experience as this category is certainly of a much higher level than the Stock 1000! I wasn’t able to make the best start in race 2 but I’ll work on this over the winter.
We also changed tyre between the two races and this helped me a lot in the second.
I thank my whole team of course, Genesio, and my engineer this weekend, Ernesto Marinelli, for all their hard work.
”Troy Corser (14th and 16th)“I am a little disappointed with the results.
That was not really how I wanted to finish my racing career.
We struggled the whole weekend.
We were able to improve the bike by changing some settings, but we still did not have enough grip.
I just rode as hard as I could with what I had and gave my best.
It was a shame because we have made very good steps throughout the year and I was hoping to transfer that here to a good result.
The boys and I tried everything, but that was not enough.
But I was not the only one to struggle with grip, as a lot of guys were sliding around.
So it was just a matter of bringing it home without a crash.
All in all I have to say that I enjoyed every bit of my time with BMW so far.
It was frustrating at times, but there have been a lot of great moments as well.
”Karl Muggeridge (18th and 17th)It’s been very tough for me this weekend.
On Friday I was just trying to remember which way the track went and we had a couple of technical issues on the first two days which restricted our track time as well.
In warm-up this morning I was still struggling to find some harmony out there so in the first race I just kind of sat there and did the laps.
It paid off because I had a better feeling for the second race after we made some suspension changes so the bike worked a little better on grip and turning.
We also adjusted the electronics slightly to soften the throttle response off a bit.
It all helped and I was a lot more comfortable in race two – I was still too slow though.
I also lacked a bit of confidence in the tyres but that’s only going to come with time.
It was fun to be back working with the guys though, and to be in this paddock where I still have a lot of friends.
2011 World Superbike Standings:1.
Carlos Checa Althea Ducati 505 points2.
Marco Melandri Yamaha SBK 3953.
Max Biaggi Aprilia Alitalia 3034.
Eugene Laverty Yamaha SBK 3035.
Leon Haslam BMW Motorrad 2246.
Sylvain Guintoli Effenbert-Liberty Ducati 2107.
Leon Camier Aprilia Alitalia 2088.
Noriyuki Haga PATA Aprilia 1769.
Jonathan Rea Castrol Honda 17010.
Ayrton Badovini BMW Italia 16511.
Joan Lascorz Kawasaki Racing 16112.
Michel Fabrizio Suzuki Alstare 15213.
Tom Sykes Kawasaki RTS 14114.
Jakub Smrz Effenbert-Liberty Ducati 12715.
Troy Corser BMW Motorrad 8716.
Maxime Berger Supersonic Ducati 6417.
Ruben Xaus Castrol Honda 4918.
Roberto Rolfo Pedercini Kawasaki 4219.
Mark Aitchison Pedercini Kawasaki 3620.
John Hopkins Samsung Crescent Suzuki 2021.
Chris Vermeulen Kawasaki Racing 1422.
James Toseland BMW Italia 1323.
Javier Fores BMW Italia 1224.
Lorenzo Lanzi BMW Italia 1025.
Josh Waters Yoshimura Suzuki 826.
Federico Sandi Althea Ducati 727.
Alessandro Polita Barni Ducati 528.
Matteo Baiocco Barni Ducati 429.
Davide Giugliano Althea Ducati 430.
Barry Veneman BMW Italia 331.
Jon Kirkham Samsung Crescent Suzuki 332.
Bryan Staring Pedercini Kawasaki 133.
Fabrizio Lai Echo CRS Honda 134.
Alex Lowes Castrol Honda 135.
Viktor Kispataki Prop-Tech Honda 12011 World Superbike Championship manufacturer standings1.
Ducati 529 points2.
Yamaha 4503.
Aprilia 4224.
BMW 2755.
Kawasaki 2286.
Honda 1947.
Suzuki 169
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