2008 HANNspree World Superbike Championship - Rounds 17 & 18 - Brno, Czech Republic - Sunday 20th July 2008
Vent Axia VK Energy rider Gregorio Lavilla added to his Hannspree World Superbike Championship points tally with a pair of battling points finishes at Brno in the Czech Republic this weekend.
Riding Paul Bird's Honda Fireblade, the team struggled with the bike set-up from the beginning of the weekend and the Spaniard ended up in a disappointing 19th after qualifying meaning he missed out on Superpole.
In race one, Lavilla didn't get a great start and only moved up one place on the opening lap into 18th position. A group of riders crashed out on lap three putting Lavilla into 14th position but despite experiencing some technical problems, he rode consistently and managed to bring the bike home in the points.
In the second race, Lavilla made a poor start to end the first lap in 21st position but after several of the top riders dropped out, Lavilla put in his usually fast and consistent lap times and a strong run in the closing laps which brought him from 16th to a solid 14th and point scoring finish.
Lavilla now occupies 13th in the title chase with Bird's team still in top spot as Honda's number one privateer team in the series.Gregorio Lavilla:"It has been an up and down weekend and unfortunately we missed out on Superpole once again which is disappointing. Race one was a real challenge as we had some technical problems and I was a little held up by a crash in front of me which covered me and the bike in oil. We went back to yesterday's settings in Race two and we found a good pace once again and I did the best I could to finish in 14th from 21st on lap one. The whole team is looking forward to Brands Hatch as it's a race track both the team and myself know very well so we will be hoping for a good result there."Paul Bird:"The weekend was a bit disappointing and frustrating with a poor qualifying position again. It was also unfortunate that we had some technical problems during the races but as usual Greg put in two consistent performances to finish in the points and we still remain the top finishing Honda privateer team. Everyone is looking forward to Brands Hatch and we expect to do well there as it's a track both Greg and the team have had some great results in the past in both WSB and BSB. We are also looking at running a second rider for the British rounds which will be confirmed later this week so the team are feeling really positive and excited about the next few races."
The next round of the Hannspree World Superbike Championship takes place over the weekend of 1/2/3 August at Brands Hatch with a big British crowd expected.
Superbike Race One1, T Bayliss (Ducati) 40m22.724s, 2, T Corser (Yamaha) +1.468s, 3, M Fabrizio (Ducati) +3.272s, 4, M Biaggi (Ducati) +3.475s, 5, R Kiyonari (Honda) +3.791s, 6, N Haga (Yamaha) +9.120s, 7, M Neukirchner (Suzuki) +9.358s, 8, C Checa (Honda) +11.787s, 9, Y Kagayama (Suzuki) +17.228s, 10, K Sofuoglu (Honda) +17.705s. 15, G Lavilla (Vent Axia VK Honda) +36.545s.
Superbike Race Two1, T Bayliss (Ducati) 40m16.436s, 2, M Fabrizio (Ducati) +0.928s, 3, M Biaggi (Ducati) +1.259s, 4, T Corser (Yamaha) +1.785s, 5, M Neukirchner (Suzuki) +3.942s, 6, R Kiyonari (Honda) +7.910s, 7, N Haga (Yamaha) +11.297s, 8, F Nieto (Suzuki) +11.375s, 9, Y Kagayama (Suzuki) +13.103s, 10, K Sofuoglu (Honda) +18.978s. 14, G Lavilla (Vent Axia VK Honda) +26.372s.
Championship Standings after Round 91, T Bayliss (Aus) 309pts2, M Neukirchner (GER) 230pts3, T Corser (AUS) 219pts4, C Checa (ESP) 215pts5, N Haga (JPN) 210pts6, F Nieto (ESP) 161pts7, R Xaus (ESP) 148pts8, M Fabrizio (ITA) 147pts9, M Biaggi (ITA) 146pts10, R Kiyonari (JPN) 115pts13, G Lavilla (ESP) 78pts
