WSBK Monza – Rider Quotes and Standings

From Monza, what the riders had to say:Michel Fabrizio – 1st and 2nd“I am so happy with today’s results.
It’s gone well all weekend so I knew I had the chance to fight for the win and at last I’ve done it! Mid way through race 1 I was having trouble with the gears, especially when Ben passed me, but I didn’t give up and fought till the end.

It’s a shame for Ben that the race finished as it did because it makes mine a bit of a false win but I’m very pleased of course.

Race 2? Well Ben deserved the win in the first race so I’m pleased he took it instead in Race 2.
I had to ride the second bike in Race 2 and for some reason I found it tricky at the start, I didn’t have a great feeling and couldn’t push but after a few laps I just concentrated on reaching the podium again and then it became easier.
I thank my whole team for giving me such a fantastic bike this weekend.

The double win I’ll leave for the next race!”Ben Spies – 15th and 1st“That was a tough pill to swallow.
You can only carry so much fuel, and this is a long track and we run at full throttle so much that unfortunately we ran out at the end.
I definitely rode the warm up laps differently and short-shifted the bike late in the race to make sure I could make it to the finish,” he added.
“The bike could have run faster the entire race, but I wanted to make sure we brought it home.
The Yamaha guys regrouped after race one, figured things out and it was great to end the weekend on a high note.
Hopefully Nori is OK.
Having him suffer a crash is not the way I’d hope to stay in the championship.
”Noriyuki Haga -2nd and DNF“Right at the start of Race two I was hit by a bird on my right arm; it hurt a lot and I lost all sensation, with strong pain and pins and needles in my right arm and hand.
I tried to continue to race but it was too difficult to ride and as a result I unfortunately fell.
Yes it hurts but I should be back in top shape very soon.
Race one went much better for me of course and I really enjoyed the racing against Ben and Michel.
I though at the end that I would surely end third but then Ben’s bike stopped so close to the finish line and I finished in second as a result.
I’m sorry for him as he deserved the win and this year me and him will continue to battle it out.
Despite the Race 2 result I still hold a 54 point advantage and so I’m satisfied with that.
” Ryuichi Kiyonari – 3rd and 3rd“I am so happy to get these results for myself and for the team.
We have worked very hard to find a good setting with the CBR1000RR this season but we have not always had good luck.
My start was very bad in race one but I was able to fight back lap-by-lap during the race, although I was very surprised and happy when they told me I was third.
In the second race I had a better start and I must say I am a little disappointed.
I had the speed to catch Fabrizio but not quite enough to get past him.
But this is my best result for a long time and I hope it indicates the start of a better part of the season for me and the team.
”Yukio Kagayama – 4th and 17th“I made not so bad a start and was fourth after lap one and trying to stay with the top group.
I was having problems with Biaggi, because although I could close in on him on the brakes, his bike would always accelerate better than mine out of the turns.
After 12 laps or so, my tyre was nearly at the limit and the grip level was not good.
I just kept pushing as hard as I could without taking any big risks and managed fourth place.
In race two, I made a good start, but my bike was vibrating a bit.
Then I got a ride through penalty and was last.
It was difficult catching up again – especially as my bike was still vibrating – but I managed to overtake some riders and get 17th.
I’m not so happy today because I thought my results would be a lot better.
I cannot fault my mechanics because they have worked very well and we found a good feeling with the bike which makes me feel very positive for the next race.
So thank you to my staff.
”Jonathan Rea – 5th and 4th“We just had a few problems with the bike in the latter stages of the race – I don’t know whether it’s the light fuel load or what, but it developed a bit of chatter which was quite hard to dial out after race one.
I got busted by a pretty hard move by Laconi in that race and, by the time I’d got back past him, I’d lost touch with the leading group.
In Race 2 I got a much better start and tried really hard to catch Fabrizio and Kiyo, but they had a little more left in the tank at the end.
Still, I’ve equalled my best Superbike result and we’ve shown that we can race at the front now.
I didn’t quite achieve a podium today but hopefully the results are some reward for all the hard work the team has put in over the last few weeks.
”Tom Sykes – 6th and 6th“In race one I got away ok, but the problem was getting stuck in that first chicane as I was starting from row three.
As soon as it bottled up everything got spread out and unfortunately the lead group spread a long way and was hard to catch.
I got past a couple of people and to be honest I thought I was going to catch them but halfway through the race I suffered from some brake fading.
It was very unfortunate.
In race two I got off the line fairly decently and had good race pace, I was looking quite strong but not able to get that last little bit.
I guess it was one of those weekends, I’ve been fairly fast and consistent but spoilt it a bit with the qualifying.
I’m very confident in the bike and the team, especially for Kyalami and hope to have better memories after the race than when I tested there! All in all good weekend, two more scores on the board and moving up to fifth in the championship is great.
”Ruben Xaus – 7th and 9th“I’m happy to give the team our best result of the season so far and happly that I managed another top ten finish in the second race.
My seventh place result is also for Troy and the whole team because everbody has worked so hard for this.
My race two result could’ve been better, but I made a really bad start and then got nudged by somebody in the chicane.
I recovered and was happy fighting for eighth with Smrz, Parkes and Laconi but I just couldn’t get past Smrz for eighth.
But generally, my race pace was good today and I think our result is good considering how little time we have in practice and qualifying.
If we continue to make this good progress, we will be fighting for places even further up.
”Carlos Checa – 9th and 10th “Both races were pretty much the same for me – I had quite bad chatter on the entry into corners and a lack of side grip on the exit, but the entry problem was worse.
It was a little better in race two and I was able to stay with the leading riders a little longer.
But then I started to lose a few tenths here and there, and then I got tangled with a few other riders and made some mistakes.
We will check the settings of the other guys in the team and see where we can improve things in time for next weekend in Kyalami.
”Règis Laconi – 8th and 11th” I was scared that the 4 cylinders would have an advantage here at Monza.
The team did again an excellent job but we suffered a few problems in the first and second run.
It all happened and we know we have the potential to stay ahead and I am sure that we will take again beautiful satisfactions in the near future”.
Broc Parkes- 10th and 13th “In the first race I had a bit of a problem with my exhaust pipe and started running out of fuel on the last lap.
To get a top ten is awesome, however, because we didn’t expect it.
We changed the exhaust on the first bike but there was a problem with the radiator, so I had to run my second bike.
I ran out of stamina a little bit in the second race and then we started running out of fuel again.
After this weekend, it is our best one ever, and we scored points in each race, despite all my injuries.
I was very tired in race two so I was glad to bring it home for the team.
We have done a lot of work this weekend.
Leon Haslam – DNF and 7th “I went out on my second bike today, which I hadn’t been riding all weekend, and took a bit of a gamble with it.
We had some issues with the suspension, but we decided to stay with the set up we used in Assen.
It took me a few laps to get into it, but I was able to run a good pace.
The pace in the end of the race was definitely good enough for a place on the rostrum.
It was a tough weekend, with bad qualifying results and a disappointing first race.
To finish the second race in seventh race place is a good enough result, I am pretty happy “.
Shane Byrne – 14th and 18th “My morale is shattered.
I did know that it would be hard to score a good result on this track, but I was expecting a better performance on my part.
Now I just have to forget everything and try to improve with help from the crew starting next week”.
Jake Zemke – 18th and 20th” It is definitely not the weekend that I wanted to have.
I want to thank the team for all the hard work they put.
They bent over backwards to get to a point were I was happy on the bike, but we just never got there.
I struggled to get the bike to turn, and we failed to find the solution in such short time.
My team did a great job, but I just didn’t bring the bike to a place where we could all be satisfied.
Race one went a lot better then race two, we made some changes and thought they would help us, but they didn’t, and then the ride through penalty for cutting the chicane just finished the race for me.
Tommy Hill- 20th and 16th“Race one was really very difficult for us.
Immediately after the start there was a big crash in the first chicane, someone bumped into my bike and I crashed.
We were able to restart the race, as I did not injure myself, although I was forced to use my second bike & I struggled with the same problems I have found during the qualifying session.
I tried to ride aggressive but I couldn’t really chase the riders in front of me and the only thing I could do was try and finish the race.
”Troy Corser – DNF and DNS“I am happy that I survived two big crashes more or less OK, but sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t.
I knew nothing about what started the crash on lap one of the first race.
One minute I was going into the chicane and the next minute I was flying through the air.
Then, while I was on my knees, I got hit by another bike.
It banged into the top of my back, near my neck and the impact was strong enough to thump my helmet on to the floor.
I managed to get off the track and fell down on the grass to rest while I got my breath back, but the marshals wanted me out of the way and tried to pull me on to a stretcher.
I was lucky that I hadn’t damaged my neck, because they way they handled me would’ve caused further injury for sure.
After I while, I got my breath back and walked back to the pits and prepared for the restart.
The team didn’t put any pressure on me at all, in fact the opposite.
But, I felt OK and decided to give it a go.
This time, I almost completed a lap! I got pulled along in a four or five rider draft and found myself going into the Parabolica a bit too quick.
Muggeridge was alongside or came across a bit and I had to choose between hitting him or applying more pressure to the brakes.
Of course, I put more pressure on the brakes and down I went.
I slid feet first, then did a couple of flips and I was really lucky not to hurt myself any more.
My left arm was sore and when I got back to the pits, we made the decision not to start race two.
I was a bit dazed anyway, so it was the right choice.
It’s a pity because I really felt that we’d get good results today and Ruben’s seventh in race one is proof of that.
Now, I’ve got to recover and get fit for the next race, so wish me luck.
”Makoto Tamada DNF and DNS“In the first corner I was pushed on to the gravel by another rider and had a big crash.
I knew that I hurt my wrist pretty bad so I wasn’t that surprised when they told me after an X-ray that it was broken.
I was therefore out of race two and will also miss Kyalami next weekend which is a real shame for me and the team.
I hope to be back in Miller as the break isn’t so bad.
”Riders’ Championship Standings after Monza:1.
Noriyuki Haga 2002.
Ben Spies 1463.
Michel Fabrizio 1254.
Leon Haslam 1035.
Tom Sykes 906.
Max Biaggi 817.
Regis Laconi 778.
Jonathan Rea 779.
Max Neukirchner 7510.
Ryuichi Kiyonari 6511.
Jakub Smrz 5612.
Carlos Checa 5313.
Yukio Kagayama 5214.
Shane Byrne 4115.
Ruben Xaus 4016.
Troy Corser 3517.
Shinya Nakano 3418.
Broc Parkes 1719.
John Hopkins 920.
Tommy Hill 621.
Karl Muggeridge 422.
Brendan Roberts 323.
Roberto Rolfo 324.
Luca Scassa 325.
Matteo Baiocco 326.
Makoto Tamada 2