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Silverstone SBK STK Races, July 31 2011, Warm weather conditions today in Silverstone for the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship. Thanks to yesterday’s strong performances in qualifying and Superpole, Mark Aitchison lined up on the third row of the grid today.
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July 31 2011 - Silverstone SBK STK Races
Warm weather conditions today in Silverstone for the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship. Thanks to yesterday’s strong performances in qualifying and Superpole, Mark Aitchison lined up on the third row of the grid today. Roberto Rolfo missed Saturday’s Superpole by just one second and he started from the fifth row in today’s 18-lap races. Aitchison battled hard in race one and with strong determination, smart riding and aggression he was able to reach the eighth position. Unfortunately, due to some brake problems, he crashed during the eleventh lap ending his race in the gravel. For race one Rolfo decided to use soft tyres. After a good start he went on to battle and make up places, but unfortunately in the last laps the tyres started to lose grip and he obtained the thirteenth final position. In race two Aitchison fought in a group of three riders for ninth place, but towards mid-race he started to experience the same brake problems he suffered in race one. Mark was forced to reduce his race pace ending in fourteenth position. Rolfo’s start was not so fast but after a few laps he was forced to re-enter the box to change his bike’s sprocket. Roberto rejoined the race but was one lap down and so preferred to retire.
Superbike - Race one: 1) Checa (Ducati) - 2) Laverty (Yamaha) - 3) Melandri (Yamaha) - 4) Haslam (BMW) ........... 13) Rolfo (Kawasaki) ........... Ret) Aitchison (Kawasaki)
Superbike - Race two : 1) Biaggi (Aprilia) - 2) Melandri (Yamaha) - 3) Checa (Ducati) - 4) Fabrizio (Suzuki) ...........11) Rolfo (Kawasaki) - 12) Aitchison (Kawasaki)
Roberto Rolfo: "For race one we had decided to use a very soft tyre but after only a few laps it was already very worn and I couldn’t keep up the rhythm I’d found in the first laps. The bike moved around a lot and it was difficult to finish thirteenth. The second race didn’t start badly but then I had to return to the garage to change the sprocket on my bike. My team changed it very quickly but I had lost a lap and so once back on track, in last position, I decided to return definitively to the pits. It was a difficult day and I hope to do much better the next time."
Mark Aitchison: "I think it is fair to say that today has been difficult for us. In race one I was running strong with the second group of riders but experienced some problems with a loss of front brake pressure. After battling with others in the middle part of the race, unfortunately I crashed on the front end when forced to use too much front brake trying to stop the bike. In race two we swapped to my spare bike as there was much damage to my number one race bike. After the start I settled into a good rhythm but after around 8 laps again I felt similar problems from the front brake and also some clutch issue. In any case I really enjoyed riding and racing closer to the front today and I hope we can keep improving for the Nurburgring. I want to thank all my team and my personal technicians who have done a great job again this weekend".
Sunny weather and dry track conditions today in Silverstone for the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup race. Yesterday Mercado scored his best qualifying results of the season and today he lined up from the third row. After a difficult free practice and qualifying, Bussolotti started from the fourth row while Staring started from the fifth. Mercado made quite a good start. Tati reached seventh place, very close to the front group of riders. As the race progressed, Mercado found a very fast race pace, closing in a fantastic fifth position. This is the best result of the season for the young Argentinian rider. After a good start also Staring and Bussolotti found a good rhythm. Despite finishing the first lap in fourteenth and sixteenth position respectively, with a very fast pace and a lot of fearless overtaking, they were able to recover a lot of positions. Bussolotti reached the final eleventh position while Staring followed him across the line in twelfth.
Superstock 1000 - race: 1) Petrucci (Ducati) - 2) Zanetti (BMW) - 3) Canepa (Ducati) - 4) Baroni (Ducati) - 5) Mercado (Kawasaki) ......... 11) Bussolotti (Kawasaki) - 12) Staring (Kawasaki)
Marco Bussolotti: "I’m just a little disappointed not because of my result but because, right from the first lap, I suffered some problems with the electronic gear of my Kawasaki. I was able to make up a lot of positions but near to the middle of the race it became very difficult to ride my bike due to this problem. It was a difficult weekend but at least I obtained some points for the championship standing and I’m sure I’ll obtain better results starting from the next race."
Brian Staring: "I guess we were able to take some points for the team which isn’t bad considering our twentieth position on the grid, but I’m still a little disappointed with my race. Anyway, practice makes perfect and I didn’t get much time to practice so that explains my race performance. I was a little low on confidence today and that probably showed in the race. We’ll work to do a lot better next time."
Leandro "Tati" Mercado: "I’m very happy with today’s result. The situation at the start of the race was really difficult because I didn't have much confidence with the cold tyres and I made some small mistakes. I managed to stay calm and lap after lap my feeling improved and I was able to reach the fifth place. I am happy because I had never been to this circuit before and this is an important result also for the team. I want to thank them and all my sponsors."
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