Miller WSB Race 2: Melandri wins after epic battle with Rea, Davies fourth

Despite being delayed for over an hour, the second race at Miller was well worth the wait. After a brilliant race long battle,  Italian Marco Melandri claimed a hard fought victory ahead of Jonathan Rea after making a decisive move into turn one on the final lap of the race.

His win marked BMW’s second ever WSB victory and escalates the 28 year old to joint second in the overall standings with Tom Sykes, 18 points behind championship leader Max Biaggi.

He said: “For sure we had a little bit of luck with Carlos crashing out but it’s amazing to take the win. It was a great race, I tried to attack at the beginning but when Johnny came past me I lost a bit of concentration. When the fuel dropped down I felt so much better on the bike and fortunately I was able to pass him on the straight because my engine is so strong.”

Jonathan Rea exceeded all expectations with a brilliant performance that saw him lead the race and become embroiled in a classic battle with Melandri. Clearly down on top speed compared to Melandri’s BMW, Rea was forced to push to the absolute limit especially through the ultra fast turns at the circuit. Despite his best efforts, Rea was unable to stop Melandri powering past along the straight at the start of the final lap.

“To come away with a fourth and a second at this track is a great result for us. I hit a false neutral with three laps to go and I think that gave Marco the motivation to come back at me. It’s clear that we’re lacking a bit of speed but the bike is working faultlessly elsewhere and it’s great to ride.”

Max Biaggi was forced to fight hard with WSB rookie Chaz Davies, ultimately securing third position. The result sees him extend his championship lead to 18 points.

Chaz Davies secured far and away his best result with an accomplished performance that saw him finish in fourth place just 4.2s off the win. The ParkinGO Aprilia rider made a great start and looked like he belonged at the front of WSB with a faultless race long performance. He ended up in a tough battle for the podium with five time world champion Max Biaggi.

Tom Sykes and Eugene Laverty had an intense battle finishing fifth and sixth respectively with Leon Haslam eight and Leon Camier in 11th.

Miller – FIM Superbike World Championship – Race 2

1. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 32’56.257
2. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 32’56.452
3. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 32’58.394
4. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 33’00.502
5. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 33’05.791
6. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 33’06.055
7. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 33’08.148
8. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 33’08.972
9. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 33’09.274
10. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 33’09.960
11. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 33’11.944
12. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 33’18.180
13. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 33’20.197
14. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 33’20.308
15. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 33’30.154
16. John Hopkins (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 33’34.949
17. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 33’43.960
18. Jake Holden (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 34’03.480
19. Shane Turpin (Boulder Motor Sports) Ducati 1098R 34’37.971
RT. David Salom (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 24’27.789
RT. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 24’56.264
RT. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 17’05.034
RT. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 9’18.970
NS. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR