Italians dominate as Corser breaks arm

An already torrid 2011 world Superbike season for Troy Corser has now taken a turn for the worse after the Australian broke his arm in round seven of the championship at Aragon in Spain overnight.

After a solid 10th place in race one, Corser was cannoned into by another rider early in race two, which sent the two-time world champion straight to the medical centre where an x-ray showed that he had broken both the ulna and radius in his left forearm.

In WSBK’s first visit to Aragon, the two races were won by Marco Melandri (Yamaha) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia) respectively, with championship leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) blotting his 2011 copybook with a crash  in the opener.

Corser’s crash has just about completed a full quota of misfortune in 2011 for the two-time world champion, who hasn’t been able to string enough quality races together to consistently compete with the championship front-runners.

Corser will now return to the United Kingdom for further examinations and treatment, and it’s uncertain whether he’ll be able to compete in round eight at Brno on July 10.

“I braked at the end of the back straight, passed two other riders and braked a bit late,” said Corser. “I overshot the last corner and went straight for a bit. When I turned in I saw Maxime Berger coming. I could see that his rear wheel was off the ground when he was braking and he just went straight into me.

“I am not blaming him. It was my fault for being off the track. It was just unlucky, really. But I am happy that I only suffered a broken arm, after the injury that I just suffered a week ago. I do not have any bruises, nothing is sore and my neck is fine.”

Corser’s compatriots Chris Vermeulen (12-14) and Mark Aitchison (15-12) were both in the points at Aragon, as they continue to gain momentum on their Kawasakis.

Race one saw Biaggi lead for the first 15 laps before Melandri, the polesitter, decided the time was right to assume front-running responsibility, and he claimed his second WSBK win by 1.572 seconds, with Briton Leon Camier making it two factory Aprilias in the top three.

Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) flashed over the line in fourth and fifth, with the latter passing Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia) on the last lap.

After nine podium finishes in 2011 for zero wins, Biaggi finally broke the drought in race two with a faultless display of front running. Biaggi now trials Checa by just 43pts in the standings, setting the scene for a mouth-watering second half of the year.

Melandri was second, with Checa recovering after his opening highside to finish third from Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki) and Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki).

Checa also set the founding WSBK lap record at Aragon (1:58.862) before his crash in race one.

Australia’s Broc Parkes (Kawasaki) blew his chances of consecutive world Supersport victories when he crashed out of the lead on lap 16. His mistake gifted the race win to Yamaha’s Chaz Davies, who defeated Sam Lowes (Honda) and David Salom (Kawasaki).

“It was all going fine at the front, all under control,” said Parkes. “I had three laps to go and I knew there were two riders behind me and the gap back to them was pretty much the same.

“Then I made a mistake and lost the front. Maybe on days like that you should finish and settle for the points in third, or something like that. Anyway, it didn’t work out and I am really upset because it was good points we lost.”

Davies leaves Aragon of 105pts, 20 ahead of Parkes in second.

Race one: 20 laps
1 Marco Melandri, Italy, Yamaha
2 Max Biaggi, Italy, Aprilia +1.572
3 Leon Camier, Great Britain, Aprilia +2.432
4 Eugene Laverty, Great Britain, Yamaha +10.799
5 Tom Sykes, Great Britain, Kawasaki +10.847
6 Noriyuki Haga, Japan, Aprilia +11.931
7 Joan Lascorz, Spain, Kawasaki +12.591
8 Ayrton Badovini, Italy, BMW +16.594
9 Leon Haslam, Great Britain, BMW +24.205
10 Troy Corser, Australia, BMW +24.694
12 Chris Vermeulen, Australia, Kawasaki +30.407
15 Mark Aitchison, Australia, Kawasaki +43.004

Fastest lap and founding record: Carlos Checa, Spain, Ducati -- 1:58.862

Race two: 20 laps
1 Biaggi
2 Melandri +4.809
3 Checa +6.974
4 Michel Fabrizio, Italy, Suzuki +9.001
5 Lascorz +11.562
6 Laverty +14.288
7 Haga +15.138
8 Camier +17.660
9 Haslam +24.184
10 Badovini +24.676
12 Aitchison +33.163
14 Vermeulen +49.042
DNF Corser +20 laps

Fastest lap: Melandri – 1:59.159

1 Checa 261
2 Biaggi 218
3 Melandri 195
4 Laverty 146
5 Camier 125
6 Haslam 120
7 Fabrizio 108
8 Jonathan Rea, Great Britain, Honda 94
9 Haga 89
10 Badovini 86
15 Corser 55
19= Aitchison 14
19= Vermeulen 14

Next round:  Brno, Czech Republic, July 8-10