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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
The British Invade & Succeed At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca World Super Bike Podiums
On July 10 2017, it wasn’t the 60’s British Invasion to America for music culture.
It was the 2017 World Super Bike's invasion on the Monterey Peninsula at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for a outstanding display of motorsports culture.
For Race 1 on Saturday and Race 2 on Sunday, three red, white, and blue Union Jack's flew above the podium in Victory Circle to honor each of the three British riders.
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
This excerpted and edited from Crash.net -
Davies back on track, back on top at Laguna (Race 1)
WSBK - Ollie Barstow - 7 Jul 2017
Chaz Davies put any lingering doubts about his fitness firmly to bed by setting a fierce in first free practice for the eighth World Superbike Championship round at Laguna Seca.
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
The Welshman was on track for the first time since his dramatic fall and subsequent collision with Jonathan Rea on the final lap of the opening WorldSBK race at Misano three weeks ago, Davies sustaining a fracture of the transverse process of L3 (3rd lumbar vertebrae) plus a left thumb contusion.
However, having been passed fit to compete ahead of the weekend Davies showed no ill-effects of his injury by leading the hour-long FP1 session around the Californian venue almost from start-to-finish, his eventual 1m 23.425secs benchmark six tenths of a second up on the opposition.
Eugene Laverty made a strong late improvement on his Milwaukee Aprilia RSV4 to split the two Aruba.it Ducatis of Davies and Marco Melandri in second position, with championship leader Jonathan Rea following up in fourth position.
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
Leon Camier competed the top five on his sole MV Agusta, ahead of Tom Sykes, Althea BMW's Jordi Torres and leading Yamaha rider Alex Lowes.
Stefan Bradl headed up Honda's challenge in ninth position, with new team-mate Jake Gagne - riding a second Honda for the first time since Nicky Hayden's passing in May - beginning his Laguna weekend with a solid 16th quickest out of 21 riders.
Elsewhere, former WSBK rider and current BSB racer Jakub Smrz - making his return to the series with Guandalini Yamaha - was last, two seconds off the next slowest rider.
[Reference Here]
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| Race One - first place went to Chaz Davies, Second Place Jonathan Rey , third place Tom Sykes. Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
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RACE 2
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
This excerpted and edited from Crash.net -
Rea dominates at Laguna to strengthen grip on WSBK title (Race 2)
WSBK - Ollie Barstow - 9 Jul 2017
A storming opening lap by Jonathan Rea spurs him on to his ninth WorldSBK win of 2017 as he takes a sizable advantage into the summer break.
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
Jonathan Rea will take a sizable 59 point lead into the summer break as victory in the second World Superbike Championship race of the weekend at Laguna Seca saw him move ever closer to a third consecutive title.
Having been forced to settle for second behind Chaz Davies in race one, Rea turned in a superlative performance on the Kawasaki ZX-10R by following team-mate Tom Sykes as they both hustled their way to the front of the field from their reverse grid positions by the end of the opening lap.
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
From here Rea wasted no time in dispatching of Sykes for the lead on the lap two and he wasn't troubled again thereafter, the eventual 2.8secs margin as he backed off across the line to his team-mate betraying an otherwise dominant performance by the Ulsterman.
Indeed, race one winner Davies might have had the pace to go with Rea but his route through the pack from his grid position would prove more troublesome, the Welshman taking until lap seven to clear Xavi Fores for third position.
Though he would go in pursuit of Sykes and close the margin, the former champion had the measure of his countryman to seal Kawasaki's fifth 1-2 of the year and consolidate his second place in the standings.
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
Marco Melandri had a mistake early on for spoiling his chances of victory, the Italian fighting back to fourth place but finishing 17secs down on the lead.
After his bright start, Fores brought the privateer Barni Ducati home in fifth place, ahead of Eugene Laverty, who secured his third top six finish in four races in sixth position, ahead of fellow RSV4 riders Leandro Mercado and Lorenzo Savadori.
Alex Lowes won out in a tense battle with Yamaha team-mate Michael van der Mark to secure ninth and tenth respectively, while Stefan Bradl ended his weekend with another disappointing finish in 11th for Honda.
Still, it was a double points' finish for the Red Bull backed team as Jake Gagne notched up a digit in 15th place, behind Roman Ramos, Alex de Angelis and Randy Krummenacher.
Elsewhere there was disappointment for Althea BMW after Jordi Torres dropped his S1000RR whilst running sixth, his error coming just a lap on from a crash for his team-mate Raffaele de Rosa. Leon Camier was also a casualty, stopping with technical issues.
[Reference Here]
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| Race 2 - On Sunday First place went to Jonathan Rea Second Place Tom Sykes Third Place Chaz Davies. Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
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| Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2017) |
The British came, the British raced, the British conquered - the British invasion of the Monterey Peninsula in California complete, the British left with all trophies in hand.
... notes from The EDJE
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