Castrol Honda endured a difficult weekend at the ninth round World Superbike event at Silverstone, with only one race finish and no championship points.

Both races were won by series leader Carlos Checa, who has extended his championship advantage over reigning champion, Max Biaggi, to 62 points as the World Superbike paddock heads into a month-long break.

Alex Lowes, who has deputized for injured Castrol Honda rider Jonathan Rea for the last two rounds, was unable to finish either race at Silverstone today. The 20-year-old from Lincoln in the UK crashed out of race one and was forced to pit in the second 18-lap encounter at the 5.902km Northamptonshire circuit.

His race-one crash meant Lowes was forced to use his spare CBR1000RR for the second outing, but a different setting on the machine left him unable to lap in contention.

On the other side of the garage, late replacement Fabrizio Lai looked set for championship points in race one before a front-end crash ended his challenge. In race two, the Italian rider battled through to the flag but a points finish just eluded him.

Alex Lowes – DNF & DNF

I can’t really begin to express my disappointment, not just for myself, but for the whole team. After the test last week, I came to Silverstone with high hopes for an improvement over Brno, which was the first time I had seen the bike. It wasn’t to be though and we just weren’t able to find a setting here that gave me enough confidence in the front end of the bike. I’ve had a mega experience and it was great having Jonathan [Rea] around this weekend. He’s hoping to be back on the bike for the next round and I’m sure he can get the results that the team deserves after all the hard work they’ve put in.

Fabrizio Lai – DNF & 16th

In race one I thought I could get two or three points but I crashed. I used the soft tyre in the front but it did not last more than three laps, so I had to fight it for a long time. I had to use the second bike in race two, with the harder front. But the different setting with the other bike used up the rear tyre too fast. So it was not the results that I had hoped for, but I am happy to have this experience. It’s disappointing for the team, because I would like to go faster, but it was not possible.

Ronald ten Kate – team-manager

Not the results we wanted from the weekend, of course, but we still look forward. We have a test at Assen before the end of August, with quite some new parts to try on the bike that should allow us to go faster again. I’d like to thank Alex and Fabrizio for their efforts this weekend. Fabrizio’s was a very last-minute booking for Silverstone and he’s done quite well, considering it’s his first time here and he hadn’t seen the bike before he walked into the garage. It was nice to work with him. It’s been a good weekend with young Alex, too, with a few ups and downs, of course. Race one was quite promising and he was going forward through the field. Unfortunately, the crash damage to his bike meant he had to use his spare in the second race and that had quite a different feeling. We’ve really enjoyed working with him and we wish him good luck in his BSB racing.


Pole position : 2m04.041s (171.292Km/h) John Hopkins, Samsung Crescent Suzuki
Fastest lap : Race 2 - 2m05.525s (169.267Km/h) Max Biaggi, Aprilia
Circuit record lap : 2m05.421s (169,407Km/h) Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha, 2010
Circuit Best Lap : 2m04.041s (171.292Km/h) John Hopkins, Samsung Crescent Suzuki, 2011

Event results - Round 9 - Race 1


1 Carlos Checa 38m06.477s SPA DUCATI Althea Racing
2 Eugene Laverty +3.304s IR YAMAHA Yamaha World Superbike Team
3 Marco Melandri +4.782s ITA YAMAHA Yamaha World Superbike Team
4 Leon Haslam +7.116s GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
5 John Hopkins +11.057s USA SUZUKI Samsung Crescent Racing
6 Sylvain Guintoli +21.899s FRA DUCATI Team Effenbert - Liberty Racing
7 Joan Lascorz +22.308s ESP KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
8 Maxime Berger +22.734s ITA DUCATI Supersonic Racing Team
9 Troy Corser +25.491s AUS BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
10 Ayrton Badovini +25.725s ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team
11 Max Biaggi +25.844s ITA APRILIA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team
12 James Toseland +45.578s GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team
13 Roberto Rolfo +51.650s ITA KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
14 Jon Kirkham +57.310s GBR SUZUKI Samsung Crescent Racing
15 Leon Camier +1m36.457s GBR APRILIA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team
16 Fabrizio Lai DNF - 6 Laps ITA HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team
17 Mark Aitchison DNF - 8 Laps AUS KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
18 Noriyuki Haga DNF - 9 Laps JPN APRILIA PATA Racing Team Aprilia
19 Jakub Smrz DNF - 12 Laps CZE DUCATI Team Effenbert - Liberty Racing
20 Alex Lowes DNF - 13 Laps GBR HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team
21 Michel Fabrizio DNF ITA SUZUKI Team Suzuki Alstare

Event results - Round 9 - Race 2

1 Carlos Checa 38m03.361s SPA DUCATI Althea Racing
2 Eugene Laverty +2.274s IR YAMAHA Yamaha World Superbike Team
3 Marco Melandri +3.675s ITA YAMAHA Yamaha World Superbike Team
4 Max Biaggi +3.960s ITA APRILIA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team
5 Leon Camier +4.405s GBR APRILIA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team
6 Sylvain Guintoli +10.958s FRA DUCATI Team Effenbert - Liberty Racing
7 John Hopkins +11.387s USA SUZUKI Samsung Crescent Racing
8 Leon Haslam +11.496s GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
9 Michel Fabrizio +12.247s ITA SUZUKI Team Suzuki Alstare
10 Ayrton Badovini +19.705s ITA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team
11 Jakub Smrz +19.753s CZE DUCATI Team Effenbert - Liberty Racing
12 Maxime Berger +21.582s ITA DUCATI Supersonic Racing Team
13 James Toseland +27.235s GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team
14 Mark Aitchison +30.702s AUS KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
15 Jon Kirkham +42.579s GBR SUZUKI Samsung Crescent Racing
16 Fabrizio Lai +43.420s ITA HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team
17 Roberto Rolfo DNF - 2 Laps ITA KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
18 Troy Corser DNF - 6 Laps AUS BMW BMW Motorrad Motosport
19 Alex Lowes DNF - 11 Laps GBR HONDA Castrol Honda SBK Team
20 Joan Lascorz DNF - 12 Laps ESP KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
21 Noriyuki Haga DNF - 14 Laps JPN APRILIA PATA Racing Team Aprilia