Imola WSBK: Davies wins race shortened by big Laverty crash
Ducati rider Chaz Davies took a dominant second win of his World Superbikes campaign in a Saturday Imola race curtailed by a huge shunt for Eugene Laverty.
Podium: race winner Chaz Davies, Ducati Team, second place Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing, third place Marco Melandri, Ducati Team
Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Former MotoGP man Laverty, who represents Milwaukee Aprilia, clipped the Yamaha of Alex Lowes while battling for eighth on lap 13 of 19, with a piece of bodywork ending up lodged in his front wheel.
His Aprilia bike was sent careening off-track, hitting the barriers at high speed and erupting in flames. Although Laverty had dropped away well before impact and was helped on his feet, he was taken to the medical centre for a precautionary check-up.
The race was declared over then and there, with results taken at lap 12. Davies was thus handed a victory that looked in little doubt after the opening lap, when he maintained his lead after starting from pole.
Teammate Marco Melandri had passed the two Kawasakis of Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes to hold second in the early stages, with Davies extending his lead up ahead.
But even as Rea passed Melandri on the fifth lap, the gap between him and Davies only continued to grow, ending up at 6.7s the lap before Laverty's crash ended the proceedings.
Melandri completed the podium, having fended off repeated attacks from Sykes before the early end of the race.
Xavi Fores made it three Ducatis in the top five after a lonely race, with Leon Camier taking sixth for MV Agusta.
Lowes was classified eighth after the crash, right behind teammate Michael van der Mark, who had passed Laverty a couple of laps earlier.
The top 10 was completed by Team Kawasaki Go's Roman Ramos and Honda works rider Stefan Bradl, whose teammate Nicky Hayden called it a day early in the pitlane.
Race results
Pos. | # | Driver | Bike | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | Chaz Davies | Ducati | 21'21.371 | |
2 | 1 | Jonathan Rea | Kawasaki | 21'28.067 | 6.696 |
3 | 33 | Marco Melandri | Ducati | 21'30.658 | 9.287 |
4 | 66 | Tom Sykes | Kawasaki | 21'31.284 | 9.913 |
5 | 12 | Xavi Fores | Ducati | 21'37.513 | 16.142 |
6 | 2 | Leon Camier | MV Agusta | 21'43.285 | 21.914 |
7 | 60 | Michael van der Mark | Yamaha | 21'46.009 | 24.638 |
8 | 22 | Alex Lowes | Yamaha | 21'47.163 | 25.792 |
9 | 40 | Roman Ramos | Kawasaki | 21'55.406 | 34.035 |
10 | 6 | Stefan Bradl | Honda | 21'55.956 | 34.585 |
11 | 15 | Alex de Angelis | Kawasaki | 22'01.228 | 39.857 |
12 | 32 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia | 22'02.010 | 40.639 |
13 | 88 | Randy Krummenacher | Kawasaki | 22'04.460 | 43.089 |
14 | 35 | Raffaele De Rosa | BMW | 22'04.931 | 43.560 |
15 | 86 | Ayrton Badovini | Kawasaki | 22'08.660 | 47.289 |
16 | 37 | Ondrej Jezek | Kawasaki | 22'11.760 | 50.389 |
50 | Eugene Laverty | Aprilia | 21'46.372 | 25.001 | |
84 | Riccardo Russo | Yamaha | 6 laps | 6 laps | |
69 | Nicky Hayden | Honda | 8 laps | 8 laps | |
36 | Leandro Mercado | Aprilia | 9 laps | 9 laps | |
81 | Jordi Torres | BMW |
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