Monza is a track known to favour bikes with a high top speed, and if you’re on a bit of a slug and don’t catch the slipstream you may as well pack up and go home. So it was good news for Jonathan Rea in race one; he got a decent start and latched onto the back of Laverty’s rocketship Aprilia. But the first straight saw him demoted to fourth behind Sykes and Melandri before a missed gear saw him slip even further down the order.
It was a strong showing from Eugene Laverty...
Pre-race talk was all about the Aprilias and with Laverty in front, team-mate Sylvain Guintoli didn’t waste any time catching the leading trio.
With the leaders settling into a rhythm, by mid-race it looked like they had decided it was all going to go down to the last few laps, and no one seemed keen to make a break. Although championship leader Guinters threatened briefly to split the leading quartet, his challenge was soon checked by Melandri who was looking back on form after a quiet opening to his 2013 season. An Italian round tends to have that effect on him!
An Italian rider on a German bike, a Frenchman on an Italian bike, a Yorkshireman on a Japanese machine and an Irishman on an Italian bike; there’s a joke in here somewhere. But come the last few laps there was no laughing. With Guinters dropping off the pace, Laverty was looking to take Italian honours in Italy with a strong overtake on Melandri before breezing past Sykes on the straight. Entering the last lap in the lead isn’t always an advantage at Monza and Laverty was soon back in second as a fired-up Melandri came past. The next straight saw Laverty briefly regain the lead, then lose it to Melandri, and drop to third as Sykes slipped past. Only a few metres separated the leaders when they crossed the line, making it another classic Monza battle.
...but Melandri took the spoils in race one
Race two was a repeat performance as Laverty and Sykes broke clear with Melandri and fellow Italian Gugliano in hot pursuit. A massive moment for Gugliano allowed Melandri through, while Guinters and Davies looked like they were also keen on closing down the leaders. A quick off-track excursion saw Davies drop down the order (and eventually fall off trying to make up time) while a mechanical failure saw Rea drop out completely. Up front it was better news for Guintoli, who was now challenging for the lead.
As with race one there looked little likelihood of anyone breaking clear, and sure enough the last lap started with all four riders in with a shout of the win. A bit of a harsh move by Melandri gave him some ground on Guintoli before Sykes ran on and joined the race ahead of Guinters, effectively ruining either’s chance of winning the race. Laverty versus Melandri again, then, and this time the Irishman took the win on his Italian bike.
Finally, you have to feel sorry for the Supersport guys: was that three red flags in the end? It was more superstop than supersport. The shortened 10-lap race was eventually won by Brit Sam Lowes, although to be fair the course car probably did more laps than him…
Race 1:
1: Melandri (BMW Motorrad Goldbet SBK
2: Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
3: Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team)
Race 2:
1: Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team)
2: Melandri (BMW Motorrad Goldbet SBK)
3: Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
Championship places:
1: Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team)
2: Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team)
3: Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
Brit watch(race one / race two)
Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) – 3/1
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) – 2/3
Leon Camier (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) – 9/7
Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) – DNS
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) – 8/DNF
Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad Goldbet SBK) – 5/DNF