The Czech Republic’s eighth round of the World Superbike Championships at Brno at the weekend was all about Max Biaggi and Marco Melandri.

Achieving a win and a second place apiece with a superb display of precision riding, both men are proving they are not out of this year’s title fight as they spur each other on to some fantastic performances.

Though two third place finishes certainly limit any potential damage to his advantage, Biaggi’s run of form – which now includes nine second place finishes – means Carlos Checa’s lead in the overall standings is down to 30 points. Though a more manageable margin, Biaggi will be cursing the 10 points lost to Melandri (pictured above) over the last two rounds.

Behind the top three, which is split by 53 points from Checa to Melandri, Eugene Laverty cuts a lonely figure in fourth, 72 points off his Yamaha team-mate, but 31 points up on the chasing pack.

That chasing pack is led, once more, by Leon Haslam, who despite ongoing issues with the BMW, actually jumps a spot back to fifth. However, he is only three points up on Leon Camier and the in-form Michel Fabrizio, the latter doing his championship standing plenty of favours with a pair of fourth place finishes.

The day’s biggest mover, however, is Ayrton Badovini, who not only scored BMW’s best results of the day in sixth, he leaps from tenth to eighth in the standings having reached three figures. He heads Noriyuki Haga, while the absent Jonathan Rea rounds out the top 10.

Just a few digits further behind, Sylvain Guintoli edges ahead of team-mate Jakub Smrz for the first time this season in 11th, while Joan Lascorz has now also overtaken his Kawasaki counterpart Tom Sykes in 13th and is just six points shy of the top ten overall.

Meanwhile, thirty point scorers now adorn the leaderboard after Alex Lowes and Viktor Kispataki claimed a 15th place finish each on their WSBK debuts.

In the manufacturers’ standings, Biaggi’s efforts have hauled Aprilia just three points adrift of Ducati, while Yamaha is also in close company just 24 points behind.

BMW holds onto fourth overall, ahead of Suzuki, while Kawasaki has the satisfaction of not only surpassing its entire 2010 total this weekend, but also move ahead of Honda in the standings.

But don’t just take our word for it, check out the official site HERE

2011 World Superbike Championship rider standings (After round 8 of 13, previous round position in brackets)

1.(1) Carlos Checa Althea Ducati 293 points
2.(2) Max Biaggi Aprilia Alitalia 263
3.(3) Marco Melandri Yamaha SBK 240
4.(4) Eugene Laverty Yamaha SBK 168
5.(6) Leon Haslam BMW Motorrad 137
6.(5) Leon Camier Aprilia Alitalia 134
7.(7) Michel Fabrizio Suzuki Alstare 137
8.(10) Ayrton Badovini BMW Italia 106
9.(9) Noriyuki Haga PATA Aprilia 99
10.(8) Jonathan Rea Castrol Honda 94
11.(12) Sylvain Guintoli Effenbert-Liberty Ducati 89
12.(11) Jakub Smrz Effenbert-Liberty Ducati 88
13.(14) Joan Lascorz Kawasaki Racing 88
14.(13) Tom Sykes Kawasaki RTS 84
15.(15) Troy Corser BMW Motorrad 55
16.(16) Ruben Xaus Castrol Honda 44
17.(17) Roberto Rolfo Pedercini Kawasaki 31
18.(18) Maxime Berger Supersonic Ducati 24
19.(20) Mark Aitchison Pedercini Kawasaki 18
20.(19) Chris Vermeulen Kawasaki Racing 14
21.(22) Lorenzo Lanzi BMW Italia 10
22.(21) Josh Waters Yoshimura Suzuki 8
23.(23) Matteo Baiocco Barni Ducati 4
24.(24) Alessandro Polita Barni Ducati 3
25.(25) Barry Veneman BMW Italia 3
26.(26) James Toseland BMW Italia 3
27.(27) Bryan Staring Pedercini Kawasaki 1
28.(28) Fabrizio Lai Echo CRS Honda 1
28=.(-) Alex Lowes Castrol Honda 1
28=.(-) Viktor Kispataki Prop-Tech Honda 1

 

 

RESULTS FROM BRNO:

RACE ONE:

1. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 40mins 23.699s
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +0.241s
3. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R +0.436s
4. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 +8.448s
5. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +11.863s
6. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR +16.374s
7. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +20.075s
8. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR +21.399s
9. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +21.555s
10. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R +22.330s
11. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +22.494s
12. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 +24.710s
13. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R +27.958s
14. Roberto Rolfo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +31.724s
15. Alex Lowes GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR +31.998s

16. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +34.771s
17. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA BMW Italia S1000RR +36.582s
18. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +45.690s
19. Viktor Kispataki HUN Prop-Tech Honda CBR1000RR +1min 28.907s
20. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +1 lap

Not Classified

21. Matteo Baiocco ITA Barni Ducati 1098R 12 laps completed
22. Ruben Xaus ESP Castrol Honda CBR1000RR 0 laps completed

 

RACE TWO:

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 40mins 21.646s
2. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +0.222s
3. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R +3.558s
4. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 +7.863s
5. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 +8.534s
6. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR +18.085s
7. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR +21.650s
8. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R +21.862s
9. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R +25.306
10. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 +27.366s
11. Roberto Rolfo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +33.716s
12. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +36.549s
13. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA BMW Italia S1000RR +37.468s
14. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R +46.878s
15. Viktor Kispataki HUN Prop-Tech Honda CBR1000RR +1min 38.074s

Not Classified

16. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R 15 laps completed
17. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 14 laps completed
18. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 12 laps completed
19. Matteo Baiocco ITA Barni Ducati 1098R 9 laps completed
20. Alex Lowes GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR 5 laps completed

DNS Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R
DNS Ruben Xaus ESP Castrol Honda CBR1000RR

Photo courtesy Yamaha