Team Guandalini Racing - Monza - Races - 10 May 2009
Sunday began with the canonical twenty minute warm-up during which the riders refine the settings of their own bike on the basis of data acquired during the previous days. The chronological times of Smrz were in line with those obtained in previous days with a time of 1.46.616, which places our rider in thirteenth position. Brendan Roberts with a time of 1.47.393 brings his Ducati 1198 to nineteenth position.
Monza - RACE 1
A dramatic start to Race 1 took place with a number of pilots involved in an accident which happened after the first start. Endless discussions could be undertaken regarding the dangers of this chicane which in all the races is the executioner of riders and bikes, but this is Monza, with its merits and its defects. Unfortunately it happened again and to pick up the bill was - well - our own Brendan Roberts. whose bike after contact with Makoto Tamada, has to invest the innocent Neuchirkner that was going in chicane. Both riders were transported by ambulance to the medical center and later at the San Gerardo Hospital in Monza for treatment. Both appear to have leg fractures but are still being diagnosed. The race was suspended to allow the injured riders to be carried away and to clean the track from oil lost by bikes.
At restart, Jakub Smrz had a difficult start and went to the first split in twentieth position. Lap after lap he recovered several positions in succession and surpassed many riders, including the other pilot on Ducati 1198, Shayne Byrne, as well as Karl Muggeridge, and the rider Shinya Nakano. With the stop of Leon Haslam, Jakub reached the twelfth goal a few tenths from "downgraded" Max Biaggi, guilty of cutting a chicane and receiving a 20 second penalty as a result. The race was won by a resounding Michel Fabrizio who in his 1198 Ducati Xerox outpaced his teammate Nori Haga, winning his first Grand Prix career. In this victory is also the merit of our Director, Pierfrancesco Chili, who has always believed in Michel and now he is triumphant on "his" track.
Monza - RACE 2
There was a good start in race two for Jakub Smrz who already gained four positions after the first lap, passing the finish line in sixteenth position. Lap after lap increased his confidence with the bike, and he consistently overtook riders who preceded him. In the final race, after a beautiful fight with Xaus, Checa and Laconi, Kuba received other important points for the general ranking, thanks to the eighth place achieved. Considering all the difficulties that have affected the bikes of the Team during the weekend of the race, the race results are to be considered positive, even though it was through the symbolic recognition of "the best private rider". The race was won by Ben Spies on a Yamaha that preceded the 1198 Ducati official Michel Fabrizio, second time on podium this day.
"It was difficult to do better than that in these conditions. In race 1 I lost one of two exhausts on my bike and all things considered, the twelfth final position is not bad. The bike was not fast and had little acceleration-- it was really impossible to get a better result than what I got. I'm happy for race 2 in which I fight hard with Xaus, Laconi and Checa, and having cut the line in eighth place is certainly exceeded my expectations here. Having taken points in both rounds is a good thing."
Jakub Smrz
As a result of injuries suffered in race 1 from rider Brendan Roberts (No. 24), in the next race (6th event - South Africa - Kyalami), Roberts will be replaced by Spanish rider GREGORIO Lavilla.