Suzuki's Leon Haslam had tire issues in both races that put the championship contender 68 points behind Biaggi.
It wasn’t quite the perfect day for factory
Aprilia rider Max Biaggi in Brno after having secured just one win and not two, but in terms of the 2010 championship standings the outcome could prove to be pivotal. While Biaggi left the Czech Republic with a 45- point haul after his win and second-place, Leon Haslam, his closest title rival, had a shocker after claiming 8th in Race 1 and 10th in Race 2. Haslam put his drastic lack of pace down to setting his Alstare
Suzuki up for the new softer spec tire in Race 1 and to an underperforming rear tire in Race 2. His problems meant that he now sits a massive 68 points behind Biaggi after having led the championship up until five races ago.
“It’s hard to say how disappointed and frustrated I am today,” said Haslam. “If I thought that the problems were my fault, I’d put my hand up straightaway. We worked with the new tires and we have struggled all weekend. We did manage to improve the bike a bit for today, but the engine is pushing the front almost everywhere and the bike is not easy to ride. The new tires have got more grip, but getting the bike to work with them is another thing. There are a few people who have got them to work, but the majority of us are struggling.”
Although Biaggi didn't win Race 1, his performance in Race 2, coupled with Haslam's poor results, have significantly increased his lead in the championship.
In speaking about the second race Haslam said: “The tire in Race 2 didn’t work at all and I almost couldn’t finish the race - it was that bad! I felt that I was going to be highsided all the time and I don’t think I’ve been passed by that many people all year!”
In contrast, Max Biaggi was fully aware of the significance of his results and revealed the comprehensive changes he had to make to his bike after Race 1 to be in a position to win Race 2. He said: “I was OK with the result in Race 1, but I am always looking for the win, especially at this track. Finishing second was OK but at this track for me it is not enough.”
Biaggi made radical chassis and gear box changes to his factory Aprilia which allowed him to dominate Race 2 and continue his stunning track record at the Brno circuit.
“When I changed the bike for Race 2 I knew straight away that it would give me what I needed to win,” said Biaggi.
While most pundits expected Biaggi to win, no one had put money on Hannspree Ten Kate
Honda rider Jonathan Rea taking a victory. In the last two rounds Rea has been at odds with his Dutch team after disastrous results at Miller and Misano, but in Brno everything clicked once again and Rea proved just how competitive he can be by catching, passing and pulling away from Biaggi to win his first race since Assen in April.
Cal Crutchlow had a strong first race but struggled in Race 2 because of a bad tire and had to settle for 14th.
“We were a long way off through practice on Friday, but my team made some good changes and we did a lot of work on old tires,” Rea said. “By the time we got to race I knew we had good pace. I don’t know why but I can just go on the first lap and the others hold me up. I wanted to be in the lead but after four laps I had +0 and I was going to wave someone past, but then the next lap I had +.3 and then +.9 so I decided I had to go and it all worked out pretty good.”
One of the biggest losers of the day was factory
Yamaha man Cal Crutchlow. The 24-year-old claimed a strong podium in Race 1 but saw his Race 2 wrecked after finding out he had a duff tire. The British rider was forced to come into the pits to change it and was absolutely furious to have lost the chance of another podium. After two minutes in the pit box he went back out on track with a new tire and promptly set the fastest lap of the race and new lap record.
