Ruben Xaus

2011 WSBK Miller Monday Round Up - The Expected Double

By David Emmett | Tue, 31/05/2011 - 15:00

Sometimes the pundits are right: the race weekend at Miller Motorsports Park turned out exactly as predicted, with a convincing double victory for Carlos Checa. The Spaniard put in a repeat performance of last year, with the crucial difference that on Monday, he avoided the technical problems that left him stranded by the wayside in both races. Checa was a little slow off the mark in race 1, taking all of 6 laps to take over the lead and run away with the race, the Althea Ducati rider treading carefully in the still chilly and uncertain conditions. Race 2 was a different matter altogether, Checa taking the lead into the first corner and out of sight by the end of the first lap. The Spaniard barely put a foot wrong all weekend, his only mistake being to slip over in the mud while trying to pick up a Ducati flag from a fan to celebrate victory in race 1.

But while Checa's record is impressive - six wins out of ten starts, with two more podiums thrown in for good measure - his 61-point championship lead is down to more than just his own dominance. Number 2 in the championship is Marco Melandri, who had a very mediocre weekend at Miller after a strong outing at Monza. In 3rd place is Max Biaggi, who seems determined to do everything in his power to lose his #1 plate in the most heartbreaking way possible this year.

2011 WSBK Phillip Island Race Notes

By David Emmett | Mon, 28/02/2011 - 00:01

At Imola last year, shortly after Ducati had announced it would not be entering a factory team for the 2011 World Superbike series, hardcore Ducatisti and WSBK adepts hung a range of banners along the front straight, with such messages as "Senza SBK, Ducati Vale Meno" and "Ducati-SBK, the 46 reasons for pulling out." The withdrawal of the factory team was widely regarded as a terrible betrayal by Ducati, which had built its reputation and much of its brand on the success of its World Superbike team, creating legends such as Carl Fogarty, Giancarlo Falappa and Troy Bayliss along the way. 

Castrol Honda WSBK Press Release - Private Test At Phillip Island

By David Emmett | Thu, 17/02/2011 - 14:23

The Castrol Honda World Superbike team - or the team formerly known as Ten Kate Honda - finished up two days of testing at Phillip Island this morning, ahead of the official World Superbike test at the Australian track at the start of next week. Johnny Rea suffered a crash during the test, requiring a brief visit to a local hospital, but was given the all-clear straight away, suffering little more than a sore neck. The team issued the following press release after the test, as well as a video (shown below) of Jonathan Rea talking about the lead up to the season:

More Tests Lost To The Weather: WSBK At A Wet Portimao, Moto2 At A Freezing Barcelona

By David Emmett | Tue, 30/11/2010 - 19:48

Reports of testing are starting to sound increasingly like a broken record, with weather being a constant factor preventing the teams from testing properly. The second day of testing for a small group of World Superbike riders at Portimao turned into another washout, with heavy rain and cold temperatures wracking the Portuguese coast.

More Testing, More Rain: Wet Weather Washes Out Portimao WSBK Test

By David Emmett | Mon, 29/11/2010 - 21:19

The wet weather continues to thwart any attempts at testing racing motorcycles. After the Moto2 test at Jerez was largely lost to rain, the first day of testing for a large part of the World Superbike paddock at Portimao suffered a similarly damp fate. With rain falling nearly all day, the assembled riders barely got out onto the track, posting just a few laps before heading back into the pits.

WSBK 2011 Updates: Xaus At Ten Kate, Maxime Berger With Supersonic Ducati

By David Emmett | Fri, 12/11/2010 - 08:45

With the 2010 season now long gone, the line up for the next World Superbike season is nearing completion. The biggest gap in the line up so far was the empty seat in the Ten Kate Honda garage, alongside Ulsterman Johnny Rea. There had been some speculation that Ten Kate would field only a single bike in the 2011 WSBK championship, after HANNSpree pulled out of the title sponsorship role, but that speculation appears to have been premature.

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