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NEWS
World Superbike preview: Aragon
Only the second visit to the Spanish circuit, which is already something of a classic with its undulations and varied mix of cornersThe 2012 World Superbike title continues at the magnificent Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain this Sunday, as the championship starts to reach a critical juncture for a number of top riders.
While Italian Max Biaggi (Aprilia) is sitting pretty with a 38.5pt lead after seven of 14 rounds – and continuing to collect big points with unerring regularity -- there’s some heavy jostling going on behind the 2010 world champion, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) currently in second position ahead of Tom Sykes (Kawasaki), Marco Melandri (BMW) and reigning No. 1 Carlos Checa (Ducati).
With Aragon kickstarting the second half of the championship, Checa’s title defence is particularly on shaky ground, and another lean result for the Spaniard could just about spell an end to his chances of retaining the silverware.
Checa has four wins in 2012, more than any other rider, but a number of DNFs have brought him back to the field.
Checa is the current lap record holder at Aragon, but in 2011 – the first year that Aragon hosted WSBK action -- Melandri, then Yamaha-mounted, and Biaggi shared the race wins around the 5.344km circuit, which encompasses a bit of everything: slow and fast corners, changes of direction, undulating sections, blind crests and a whopping 1.8km long main straight.
It takes just under two minutes for the fastest riders to negotiate, and suits the bikes with huge dollops of horsepower – so expect to see Biaggi and Melandri again at the front of the pack, along with other four-cylinder riders like 2012 qualifying supremo Sykes, Rea, Leon Haslam (BMW) and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia).
And Checa, by virtue of his ability to push his twin-cylinder Ducati to its absolute limit, will also be in the hunt. Davide Giugliano and Jakub Smrz have also been impressive on their Ducatis this season.
Most of the top riders tested at Aragon over the past week, including Sykes and his teenage teammate Loris Baz.
“Aragon has a great track layout, one that I really enjoy riding on,” Sykes said. “The test was very positive and unofficially we were the fastest there. If we can carry that on into this and weekend I will be happy.
“We did a lot of laps in testing and I am confident we have closed the gap on the leader. All the testing we did at Aragon was definitely worthwhile and we confirmed two main things, each of which should make a difference to performance. It was good to focus our minds on the job in hand and make some real progress.”
WORLD SUPERSPORT
Australian Broc Parkes (Honda) heads into Aragon on the back of a potentially season-saving fifth place at the last round in Misano, but he’s still a long way behind – 53pts – championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) with seven rounds remaining.
Parkes’ compatriot Jed Metcher (Yamaha) was seventh at Misano, and he has happy memories of Aragon – it’s where he scored his first victory in the 2011 European Superstock 600 title on his way to winning the crown.
Live coverage begins on SPEED at 7.30pm on July 1.
CURRENT WORLD SUPERBIKE STANDINGS (AFTER SEVEN OF 14 ROUNDS):
1 Max Biaggi, Italy, Aprilia 210.5
2 Jonathan Rea, Great Britain 172
3 Tom Sykes, Great Britain, Kawasaki 164.5
4 Marco Melandri Italy, BMW 155.5
5 Carlos Checa, Spain, Ducati 150.5
6 Leon Haslam, Great Britain, BMW 123
7 Leon Haslam, Great Britain, BMW 103
8 Eugene Laverty, Great Britain, Aprilia 95
9 Davide Giugliano, Italy, Ducati 80
10 Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic, Ducati 75.5
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