Tough time for Haslam in America
LEON HASLAM finished in eighth and 13th places in Monday’s two races of the fifth round of the World Superbike Championship at the Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake, USA.
The BMW rider started from 12th place on the grid after a troubled two days of practice and qualifying and battled to eighth place in the opening 21-lap race.
In race two he again battled with electronic traction control issues and was forced to settle for a disappointing 13th place.
Haslam, runner-up in the 2010 World Championship, said: “This was a weekend to forget without a doubt. We have again identified some issues with the machine and we must solve them if we are to move forward.
“I have every confidence in my team I know that we will all work hard and do whatever is necessary to turn things around. We need to go away from Miller and regroup if we want to be strong for the next round at Misano.”
Haslam, 27, concluded: “Overall it’s been a tough start to the year but we continue to determine what we need to do and I’m confident that much more successful times are ahead.”
World Superbike Championship, round five, Miller, USA.
Race results (both races 21 laps – 103.047km / 63.992 miles):
Race one: 1 Carlos Checa, Spain (Ducati) 38m 46.915s – 159.425kmh / 99.003mph, 2 Jakub Smrz, Czech Rep. (Ducati) +2.766s, 3 Sylvain Guintoli, France (Ducati) +4.093s, 4 Leon Camier, GB (Aprilia) +8.885s, 5 Eugene Laverty, GB (Yamaha) +15.718s, 6 Tom Sykes, GB (Kawasaki) +20.477s, 7 Ayrton Badovini, Italy (BMW) +22.170s, 8 Leon Haslam, GB (BMW) +22.267s, 9 Noriyuki Haga, Japan (Aprilia) +24.087s, 10 Marco Melandri, Italy (Yamaha) +27.150s.
Race two: 1 Carlos Checa, GB (Ducati) 38m 22.082s – 161.145kmh / 100.071mph, 2 Leon Camier, GB (Aprilia) +7.194s, 3 Max Biaggi, Italy (Aprilia) +8.734s, 4 Eugene Laverty, GB (Yamaha) +14.214s, 5 Michel Fabrizio, Italy (Suzuki) +14.750s, 6 Marco Melandri, Italy (Yamaha) +21.634s, 7 Sylvain Guintoli, France (Ducati) +24.079s, 8 Jakub Smrz, Czech Rep. (Ducati) +25.688s, 9 Ayrton Badovini, Italy (BMW) +29.621s, 10 Tom Sykes, GB (Kawasaki) +30.681s. 13 Leon Haslam, GB (BMW) +37.455s.
World Championship points after five of 13 rounds: 1 Checa 195, 2 Melandri 134, 3 Biaggi 133, 4 Laverty 109, 5 Haslam 95, 6 Rea 94, 7 Camier 91, 8 Fabrizio 85, 9 Smrz 83, 10 Guintoli 54.
Manufacturers points: 1 Ducati 202, 2 Aprilia 172, 3 Yamaha 171, 4 BMW 117, 5 Honda 98, 6 Suzuki 89, 7 Kawasaki 69.
Next round: Misano, San Marino – June 10-12 2011.
Ends.
2011 World Superbike Championship: 1. February 27 – Phillip Island, Australia; 2. March 27 – Donington Park, GB; 3. April 17 – Assen, Holland; 4. May 8 – Monza, Italy; 5. May 30 – Salt Lake City, USA; 6. June 12 – Misano, San Marino; 7. June 19 – Aragon, Spain; 8. July 10 – Brno, Czech Republic; 9. July 31 – Silverstone, Great Britain; 10. September 4 – Nurburgring, Germany; 11. September 25 – Imola, Italy; 12. October 2 - Magny-Cours, France; 13. October 16 - Portimao, Portugal.
