Melandri takes the second Superbikes race at Motorland

Rider Marco Melandri has secured victory in the second heat of the Superbikes World Championship at the Motorland Aragón Circuit. The Italian already said during the press conference for the first race that he wanted to win, he likes the track and his BMW is flying, so he has done it. He slipped away in the first heat, but not in this second one.

Melandri has grown stronger than his rivals, with a race that gets better and better, in which he had to deal with the Aprilias, which were really flying on the Aragón track. Laverty and Biaggi quickly shook off Sykes’ Kawasaki, which made a great start, and a surprisingly strong Davies.

In a trailing group were Checa, Giugliano, Rea and Haslam, unable to catch the leaders. Halfway through the race Davies was alone in fourth place, as Sykes kept losing positions until he was neutralised by Checa’s group. At the front, the top three kept swapping positions, allowing Davies to catch up. With two laps to go, Melandri took advantage of the speed of his BMW and moved into first, while Biaggi made a mistake that Laverty capitalised on.

The last lap was heart-stopping with the podium completely uncertain among the three riders. Finally, Melandri claimed his third victory with BMW in the Superbikes World Championship, with Irish rider Laverty and British rider Davies on the podium. Carlos Checa fought until the final lap with Haslam, Sykes, Rea and Giugliano, finally finishing seventh, unable to repeat his podium from the first race. Meanwhile, Salom finished 16th, just outside the points zone.

John Hopkins, Baz and Camier retired from the race due to technical problems. The next Superbikes World Championship round will be held in the Czech Republic at the Brno circuit, on 20, 21 and 22 July.

Photos | David Gómez (Plusmoto)