Yamaha’s Eugene Laverty took both race wins at Monza this weekend. Aprilia’s Max Biaggi finished second in Race 1 with Leon Haslem (BMW) third. In Race 2, Laverty was followed home by Marco Melandri (Yamaha) in second and Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki) in third. Biaggi was leading Race 2 when he was assigned a stop-and-go penalty that dropped him to an eighth place finish. Points leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) had a poor showing with 9/10 finishes.
For additional details, results and points visit the official WSB site.
They could have compared his prior lap time to the “runoff” lap and figured out a more fair penalty. That kinda stunk.
I was too quick on the button – talking about Biaggi.
Plain and simple: This track should be taken off the WSBK schedule. Monza is not safe for the racers. A tight chicane just after the start line is STUPID AND UNSAFE causing many crashes and injuries, check it’s history. I’m not a Biaggi fan but he was robbed of the race 2 win. A 2 second time penalty maybe, but a pit drive through was way too harsh. Instead of Monza, WSBK should go to Barber then on to Miller. That way we get 2 U.S. rounds, 1 in the east, 1 in the west.
re: “Plain and simple: This track should be taken off the WSBK schedule.”
whoa whoa whoa… let’s not lose our heads here… we can fix this. someone suggested a SX style start where they all legally cut the chicane and go straight into curva grande, but ONLY at the start. from L2 on, they use the chicane. by the powers invested in me, i give this my blessing.
The problem with this solution is that the next sharp corner the get is also a chicane. So you are not solving the problem by cutting the first one and on top of that they will be arriving at the second chicane much faster. I recall a masive accident here in F1 a few years back when David Coulthard came flying upside down through the smoke and dirt. Spectacular to watch, but I think lots of dirty underwear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa3swqSvPJM&feature=related
re: “The problem with this solution is that the next sharp corner the get is also a chicane.”
no worries, by virtue of the distance to della roggia and the difference in bike performances, the grid will have had time to spread out and be line astern. it’s no different than how nobody has a problem going into T1 on lap 2, 3, 4, etc. keep in mind, these guys are skilled professionals and this IS racing. by definition, it’s never going be ZERO risk. evidenced this by the supersport crash on the final lap of all things in parabolica (ie. a big wide turn that’s so NOT a chicane). if it were easy…? hell everybody’d be doin’ it.
It wasn’t a stop and go penalty, it was a drive through penalty. Biagi missed the first chicane and carried straight on. The race management deemed he gainded an advantage by doing that and gave him a drive through penalty which meant he had to drive through the pits at pitlane speeds which dropped him way down the field.
technically, the stewards are saying he crossed a white dividing line early when he rejoined the track (think F1 pit exit) and THAT’S what got him the ride thru. i have yet to see this “verboten” white line in any of the replays and it all smells like a huge load to me…? >:(
Didn’t catch the race. What’s a stop and go penalty?
Biaggi was leading by a couple of seconds & blew a turn…. he took the runoff & rejoined the track. The rule is “a racer cannot benefit” when returning to the track. When this happens in traffic, the returning racer must make sure he does not gain a position. Since Max was alone out front, there was no one to gain a position on so the track officials (mistakenly?) made him have to ride through the pits @ 60mph as a penalty for “gaining” a position which laned him in 8th.
It was wrong! Max was way out in front & was probably untouchable.
I’m guessing that the guys in charge of race direction determined he had increased his lead over second place after the incident.
As I was watching this on TV, I was wondering if Biaggi had slowed enough for long enough after rolling back on the track to make sure he hadn’t gained any time.
I guess not.
The TV announcers were complaining mightily.
The nerve of that guy, running of off the pavement and onto slippery dirt/grass, keeping it upright, and being able to return to the track! He was obviously trying to cheat his way into a greater lead!
re: “As I was watching this on TV, I was wondering if Biaggi had slowed enough for long enough after rolling back on the track to make sure he hadn’t gained any time.
I guess not.”
in baseball, that’s what they call “tie goes to the runner”. they weren’t sure. but there seems to be some stink out of europe that they are just trying to bang biaggi for not showing up to mandatory rider meeting held earlier in the weekend. not a fan of biaggi, but right now i dislike the stewards more.