FIM Superbike World Championship rider Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) found misfortune in each 25-lap race at the new venue of Moscow Raceway, falling in race one when a gearchange was missed and then being knocked off near the end of the second race, when another rider highsided right in front of him.

Rea had been sixth after a normal three-part dry superpole qualifying, starting from the second row in each race.

The Russian SBK races were won by Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) and Marco Melandri (BMW) respectively, with Melandri now pushing himself to the championship lead after Max Biaggi (Aprilia) failed to finish in race two.

The first superbike contest started with many damp patches on the track surface, and was declared ‘wet’ after earlier rains. A mainly dry racing line was evident on the 3.931Km circuit in Russia from the beginning, however, with most riders opting for slicks front and rear. Rea had gone from sixth on lap one to third on lap 11 before he fell out of contention when he found a false neutral and lost the front.

In race two, held in much brighter and dry conditions, Rea was competing for a podium place with Eugene Laverty (Aprilia) on the last lap when Laverty lost the rear mid-corner, with Jonathan riding right behind. He had no chance of escape and for the second race weekend in succession Jonathan had an unavoidable direct collision with an opponent’s stricken machine. Rea got back onto his damaged CBR1000RR and finished the final lap seventh, despite having no right footpeg assembly.

In the points table Melandri has 308.5 points, Biaggi 290, Sykes 267.5, Carlos Checa (Ducati) 233.5 and Rea is still fifth, on a slightly increased total of 212.5, despite his bad luck in Russia. He now goes to Brno to test Casey Stoner’s Repsol Honda MotoGP machine.

Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) had a great showing in pre-race testing in Russia last Wednesday and carried on that improvement all the way through until the first race dawned with damp patches of tarmac around the circuit. He carried on despite not having an optimum tyre choice and scored two points for 13th place. In race two he got tangled with two other riders and fell on the first lap. Hiroshi had qualified a more than respectable 12th and is now 18th in the overall standings.

The next race is at the iconic Nürburgring in Germany, on September 9.

Cluzel Second In The Race and The Championship

Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) went from pole position on the grid to second in the 22-lap FIM Supersport World Championship race at a warm and sunny Moscow Raceway. The French rider formed a leading duo with eventual race winner Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) early in the race, but in the final few laps a lack of front tyre grip forced Cluzel to slow or risk crashing at a very important section of the season, with three individual races now left to run.

Jules finished five seconds down at the flag, with local WSS regular Vladimir Leonov (Yamaha) delivering a third place treat to the 32,500 local fans who had travelled to the well-appointed new Moscow Raceway track some 100kms from the city centre.

Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) who was third in qualifying, was the leader into turn one and then for the first two laps, but he had made an accidental jump-start and was punished with a ride-through penalty. This dropped him to 30th position when he rejoined on lap four, but he battled through to record a 12th place finish, and score some points.

Sofuoglu extended his championship lead after his third win of 2012, with the Turkish rider now 33 points ahead of Jules and 35 ahead of Sam.

Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) found the same front tyre grip issues as many other riders on race day as he dropped back from a potential podium according to his form in the early laps to fifth place at the finish, some 32 seconds behind the winner.

Gabor Talmacsi (PRORACE Honda) overcame his front tyre drop-off issues well and finished a season-best eighth, having only joined the class at Misano in round six. He is now 14th overall. Roberto Tamburini (Lorini Honda) was ninth and Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda) tenth as he continues to gather experience in this tough class of racing. He had been 12th on the grid.

PTR Honda rider Ronan Quarmby moved up and then down the race order in Russia, finishing a disappointed 13th after taking a top four at the previous round in the UK.

A top 18 finish was the reward for Valentin Debise (SMS Racing Honda) in Russia, with Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR Honda) immediately behind and Balazs Nemeth (Racing Team Toth Honda) 20th.

Federico D’Annunzio (Lorini Honda) scored 22nd place, Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda) was 24th and Danilo Marrancone (Kuja Racing Honda) 25th from 28 finishers. With local wildcards in evidence, 34 riders started the Russian round.

Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team):
Race result: DNF / 7th - Championship position: 5th

“Quite a frustrating day really because we had good pace in both races and was vying for the podium. In race one I had a false neutral in turn 16 so with no engine braking and the brake on I lost the front. The barriers at this circuit are so close to the track that my bike was completely broken, so my guys had to build me a new bike for race two from parts from the truck. Luckily the bike felt pretty good, but in race two I got off to a slow-ish start and could see that Sykes was pulling away. I felt I had to get past Laverty. My bike was feeling pretty good but I just lost so much ground in the straight. We should have stood on the podium in race two, but I got involved in another rider’s crash. He highsided in front of me and I had nowhere to go, but hit his bike, but that is part of racing. We can take some positives out of today because my crew worked very calmly and we got a bike today that was capable of winning. We do not have much to show for it, so it was a tough weekend. I am excited now to get the opportunity to ride a GP bike again. I feel very sorry for Casey being injured but to get called up to test one of the best bikes in the world is a dream come true.”

Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team):
Race result: 13th / DNF - Championship position: 18th

“I think we had quite a positive week in the run-up to race day. We got into superpole and then we made it to the second session as well. But in the first race on Sunday somehow I did not get any grip in that kind of conditions and I think we chose the wrong tyres. In the afternoon, in the first lap two riders crashed into me so we could not make a result. Bit we had some progress this weekend, which is good. We made some steps.”

Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda):
Race result: 2nd - Championship position: 2nd

“For me that was a good race, but I am a little disappointed because at the end I wanted to pass him but he was so strong on the last seven or eight laps, and I was losing the front because my tyre was used up a lot. I enjoyed the race and it was good to follow Kenan and do my best, but if I tried to do any better and stay with him near the end for sure I would have crashed. Because of this I am happy with this result of second and going second in the championship.”

Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda):
Race result: 12th - Championship position: 3rd

“They held us for a long time on the line and my clutch started to bite a little bit, but the jump start was 110% my mistake. I knew as soon as I entered the first corner there would be a penalty so I took it as early as possible, dug in and tried to make the best of a bad situation. It was hard to be consistent when coming through a pack because there are not that many places to overtake here. It is a World Championship so you do not just come up on other riders and then pass them. My pace was as good as most riders, but I would have not beaten Kenan today. I may have been able to have a better go if I had been with him. The championship is difficult now but you can look at it two ways. I have had my upset here and now I am just going to dig in. The pressure is off so I am just going to try and win all three races now.”

Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda):
Race result: 5th - Championship position: 5th

“The front tyre, from the start, did not feel really good and I don’t know exactly why. Even from half distance the tyre was completely gone so I was just trying to finish. I knew the tyre was gone and I just tried to really keep my position and finish the race. Some other guys had the same problem. Unfortunately we missed the podium, but we got some points so we can go to the next one and see what we can do.”

Gabor Talmacsi (PRORACE Honda):
Race result: 8th - Championship position: 14th

“My front tyre was really worn at the end, but we expected this. For the race we took an unknown set-up because we had a few problems yesterday, so we went a bit risky. I am very happy because I took my best finish of the year and it proves we are going in the right way. I have a better feeling now. I had stopped racing for one and a half years so now I am very happy.”

Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda):
Race result: 10th - Championship position: 24th

“My start wasn't very good. I dropped down to 16th place, but then I just slowly made my way up to the tenth place. The race pace I was running, I could've definitely finished a little bit higher up. Hopefully in Germany I can get a better start and finish even higher.”

Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda):
Race result: 13th - Championship position: 7th

“It was a hard race starting from 16th and I finished close to the top 10 and took some points. I'll want a big improvement at the next round and I aim to be back at the sharp end fighting for the podium again as it is our aim to go for top six in the Championship."

Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR Honda):
Race result: 19th - Championship position: 38th

“I am happy enough with the end result without being in the points if that makes sense. I was boxed in at the first corner, but once I settled in I really tried to ride my bike like a 600. I was doing my best to let go of the brakes and ride it how Sam and the other boys do. I started doing it at the end of race and was going past and catching the guys in front. The result doesn't represent how hard I worked to adapt my style to the 600. It was a good second half to the race and I need to work on the first half now.”

World Superbike and World Supersport 2012
Round 11: Moscow – Russia

Superbike Race 1

Rank	Rider (Team)
1	T. SYKES (Kawasaki Racing Team)
2	M. MELANDRI (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
3	M. BIAGGI (Aprilia Racing Team)
4	E. LAVERTY (Aprilia Racing Team)
5	M. FABRIZIO (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet)
6	L. HASLAM (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
7	N. CANEPA (Red Devils Roma)
8	L. ZANETTI (PATA Racing Team)
9	J. HOPKINS (FIXI Crescent Suzuki)
10	D. SALOM (Team Pedercini)
11	L. BAZ (Kawasaki Racing Team)
12	A. BADOVINI (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet)
13	H. AOYAMA (Honda World Superbike Team)
14	A. LUNDH (Team Pedercini)
15	L. CAMIER (FIXI Crescent Suzuki)

Superbike Race 2

Rank	Rider (Team)
1	M. MELANDRI (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
2	T. SYKES (Kawasaki Racing Team)
3	C. DAVIES (ParkinGO MTC Racing)
4	C. CHECA (Althea Racing)
5	L. CAMIER (FIXI Crescent Suzuki)
6	D. GIUGLIANO (Althea Racing)
7	J. REA (Honda World Superbike Team)
8	A. BADOVINI (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet)
9	L. BAZ (Kawasaki Racing Team)
10	L. ZANETTI (PATA Racing Team)
11	S. GUINTOLI (PATA Racing Team)
12	J. HOPKINS (FIXI Crescent Suzuki)
13	D. SALOM (Team Pedercini)
14	A. LUNDH (Team Pedercini)

Supersport

Rank	Rider (Team)
1	K. SOFUOGLU (Kawasaki Lorenzini)
2	J. CLUZEL (PTR Honda)
3	V. LEONOV (Yakhnich Motorsport)
4	S. MORAIS (Kawasaki Lorenzini)
5	B. PARKES (Ten Kate Racing Products)
6	F. FORET (Kawasaki Intermoto Step)
7	A. ANTONELLI (Bike Service R.T.)
8	G. TALMACSI (PRORACE)
9	R. TAMBURINI (Team Lorini)
10	M. SCHOLTZ (Bogdanka PTR Honda)
11	A. BALDOLINI (Power Team by Suriano)
12	S. LOWES (Bogdanka PTR Honda)
13	R. QUARMBY (PTR Honda)
14	F. MARINO (MSD R-N Racing Team India)
15	L. MARCONI (VFT Racing)