Wednesday, May 11 2011
Aprilia rider Leon Camier has had a weekend to forget at Monza for the 4th round of the World Superbike Championship. The 2009 British Champion finished 8 th in Race One before slipping out of 2nd position in Race Two to record a DNF.
Leon’s first race was initially hampered with bike issues from the warm-up lap. A steady start from the third row saw Leon slot into 7th but he fell back to 10th by lap 4, which is where he would stay for the majority of the race. As the 18 lap race drew to a close, Leon was promoted into 9th as a rider ahead received a ride-though penalty. He then successfully caught current Championship leader Carlos Checa on the Ducati, overtaking him on the final lap to finish in 8th.
The second race got off to a much more positive start, with Leon making his way through the first corner up into 3rd. Following a brief battle with Noriyuki Haga, also on an Aprilia, Leon quickly caught and overtook Troy Corser on the BMW. Now lying in 2 nd behind his teammate Max Biaggi, Leon looked comfortable and set consistent lap times before slipping off at turn 6 on lap 8.
Following a difficult weekend, Leon commented on the second race, “Start was good, first corner was good, I felt good! I got past a couple more to move up into 2nd and everything was fine. I wasn’t particularly pushing, just trying to get everything to flow and then in Turn 6 I let the brake off mid-turn and the front folded.
“I have to say sorry to all of my team. A podium was definitely on the cards, which would have been a great end to a couple of races where we’ve had nothing but bad luck. We came to Monza feeling really positive after a good test at Mugello. Unfortunately through one thing and another we’ve not had enough track time this weekend to make the most of the developments we found. We’ve just got to look ahead to Miller at the end of the month and hope our luck changes.”
Keep visiting www.leon-camier.net for behind the scenes pictures and video clips on LCTV.
