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MMP - Statistics

Friday, 27 May 2011 21:59 GMT
MMP - Statistics
WorldSBK.com takes a quick look at the stats, facts and figures regarding the fifth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship in the USA.


RIDERS


Max Biaggi won both races last year: the Italian however took the lead only when Carlos Checa retired with mechanical failures. Max has always scored points here in all the six races he contested;


Leon Camier last year was able to complete the double for Aprilia in race two, finishing behind Biaggi, he was fourth in race one;

 

Jonathan Rea climbed on the podium only once in Miller, in 2009, race two, third, however he always scored points here;


The Miller track is undoubtedly special for Carlos Checa: in 2008 he started from pole, recorded the double (maiden career pole and win) and scored both fastest laps, a feat he would have recorded also last year, if two mechanical failures hadn't sidelined him when he was clearly leading. In 2009 he had to give way to Ben Spies' dominance at his home track, finishing second in race one and retiring in race two after a crash;


Troy Corser obtained his best result at Miller with Yamaha in his first weekend here, 2008, posting a second in race one. After that he endured qualifying problems, always missing the top-10 spots, but last year from the fifteenth spot he scored two fifths;


Two Supersport races for Joan Lascorz in Miller: in 2009 he started from pole, ending up fourth behind Kenan Sofuoglu, Eugene Laverty and Cal Crutchlow, while last year he finished third behind Sofuoglu and Laverty;
Noriyuki Haga after his retirement in race one in 2008 for a crash (broken collarbone), has always finished in the top-10, scoring his best result in race one last year, third;


Roberto Rolfo endured a difficult weekend in 2008: he qualified second to last and from there scored only a twentieth and a sixteenth;


Starting from the twelfth grid spot, last year Sylvain Guintoli was able to finish both races in the top-10: eighth in race one and sixth in race two;


Eugene Laverty in the Supersport Championship obtained in Miller two second places, in both cases behind Kenan Sofuoglu and in both cases starting from the second grid spot;


Miller is a tough race for Tom Sykes: his best grid spot is a lowly eighteenth, but despite this he has always managed to score points, even a ninth from the 22nd spot in the second 2009 race;


Michel Fabrizio in the four races run in 2008 and 2009 always climbed onto the podium, starting both weekends from the fourth grid spot. Last year he crashed in race one and was ninth in race two;


Ayrton Badovini in 2008 was the best Kawasaki rider in race one, seventeenth; he was able to score points in twelfth in race two;


Only a podium placement for Leon Haslam in Miller: a second in race one last year. In both his weekends here he fell in race two;


For Jakub Smrz the Miller races have reserved little success: a sixth in race one from the eleventh grid spot in the first 2008 race is maybe his best result. In the following year he started from fifth, but finished sixth and eighth and last year he retired twice for mechanical problems starting from the front row (fourth);


Ruben Xaus with BMW obtained his best results here, finishing tenth and eleventh last year. Quite different his performances the year before, when he finished both races outside the points.


TEAMS


In all the races run here, only in last year's second race has Ducati been unable to finish on the podium. Ducati has the record for podium placements here (five) but has never won;


Honda, after a double by Checa in 2008 saw its results decline: a couple of podiums the following year, none at all last year;


Kawasaki scored its last top-10 placement in the first race of 2009, when Jamie Hacking was seventh;


Suzuki scored two podium placements in Miller, a couple of seconds: in 2008, race two with Max Neukirchner and last year in race one with Leon Haslam;


Yamaha won both races in 2009 with Ben Spies, then they obtained only one podium placement, in race two last year with Cal Crutchlow, third.


MILESTONES IN THE UNITED STATES

 

(from 1989 to 1991 the race was held at Brainerd, from 1995 to 2004 at Laguna Seca)

 

1989 - first win for the future World Champion Raymond Roche;

 

1990 - first win for Doug Chandler, who in qualifying scored the first Kawasaki pole;

 

1999 - first win for Ben Bostrom;

 

2000 - first pole position for Troy Bayliss;

 

2008 - First pole and win for Carlos Checa, 100th win for Honda;

 

2009 - Ben Spies breaks the record streak of pole positions, recording his seventh straight pole, the previous record was set by Doug Polen in 1991.