WSBK Monza

Been out travelling again, but this time I had the WSBK races from Monza to watch while on the plane. I love doing that because I really don’t notice how time goes by. I suppose the problem may be that my fellow passengers don’t much appreciate my sudden screams and other excited gestures as another fabulous race goes on.

Monza was all about Laverty. He had two absolutely amazing rides, and as much as I thought that Yamaha had done a good deal getting Melandri in the team, I see now that they actually have two absolute top riders. What was really amazing about Laverty’s performance I think was the maturity of his riding. The way he calmly kept his position behind Melandri until the last corner, delaying his braking enough for Melandri to end up going wide, leaving the inside line all open for him.

There was a lot of other action going on through the two races as well. The fight between Haslam and Biaggi in race 1 was great to watch, and Haslam must have been getting so frustrated with Biaggi making repetitive mistakes, but then being able to compensate with that Aprilia being just that much faster. Then in race two, the fight between Fabrizio and Haga was awesome! Certainly Haga looked like he was enjoying himself there, and his move of first beginning to pass on the outside, and then cutting to the inside in the same corner was insane.

In the end, Laverty was supreme, and Biaggi who really had it all going for him can only blame himself for not winning those two races. At least he did end up respecting the drive through this time, unlike Donington.

Watched Race 1, still to watch Race 2 - great racing!

I tend to find that the racing in WSBK is superior to that of MotoGP. As I have mentioned in earlier threads, it is impressive to see so many manufacturers fighting it out for the win. Also, given the speed of the Aprilia, it is clear that Max should have walked away with a double victory here at Monza. However, in bike racing the rider can still make a difference and it is still easy to make a costly mistake.

When you watch race 2, you might find that Max was unjustly penalized. It is true that had he not been given the ride through he would have won the race, but at the same time when you are leading by that much you should not make such a mistake. Also, the race brief had informed the riders that they needed to respect the white lines in case they were forced to cut the chicane, and obviously Max had not listened to that...

Now we have MotoGP at Le Mans to look forward to. Not a track I particularly enjoy as I find it to be a bit too much stop and go. Hopefully Super Sic can stay upright this time around...

I do enjoy WSBK but I still prefer MotoGP because it is another big step above, both technically speaking as well as rider skill. Even though the racing isn't necessarily better, it's the biggest challenge and to see those riders tame the MotoGP bikes is mind boggling.

Not a particular fan of Le Mans Bugatti either, perhaps a bit of rain might spice it up a bit.