Regis Laconi took both wins on offer in the Italian round of the World Superbike Championship on Sunday and now leads the rivalry with only one round remaining.
Regis Laconi took both wins on offer in the Italian round of the World Superbike Championship on Sunday and now leads the rivalry with only one round remaining.
Ten Kate Honda’s Chris Vermeulen led for most of the first race ahead of Ducati Fila’s Laconi and James Toseland and Renegade Honda’s Noriyuki Haga.
On the penultimate lap, Laconi streaked past Vermeulen before cutting across him to prevent any retaliation. The Frenchman was then able to open up a slight lead over the two remaining laps and clinch the victory.
After Toseland passed the slowing Haga towards the midpoint of the race, he found himself more than three seconds off the pace set by the top two and had to settle for third place.
Vermeulen led the points table going into the second race, but the one-two finish of Ducati team-mates Laconi and Toseland dropped him back to third place.
In one of the closest finishes yet, Laconi and Toseland crossed the line side-by-side, just 0,041 seconds apart.
Laconi led at the start, followed by Haga and Toseland, and the trio swiftly left the rest of the field trailing behind. Desperate to pass Laconi, Haga and Toseland finally got their chance on the ninth lap as the leader went wide while moving into the back straight.
As Haga tried to pull away from Toseland, he lost control of the front of his machine as he braked for a tight left, sadly sliding out of first place.
Toseland picked up the pieces until, with three laps to go, Laconi slipped past his team-mate and took his second win of the day in spectacular fashion.
“I’m obviously disappointed to finish second but we’re still in the hunt for the championship,” said Toseland. “It’s close and there’s going to be no love lost. It couldn’t have worked out better for the championship.”
Meanwhile, the remarkable Vermeulen finished in sixth place after clawing his way through the field in the final race of the day. After crashing his Fireblade on the warm-up lap the Australian had to start in the final position from the pit lane.
