Silverstone: a look back at 2010

Date published : 28 Jul 2011 - 13:32:15

At Silverstone the championship leader, Max Biaggi, wasn't entirely satisfied with his bike setup and at the end of qualifying he was only sixth, with his direct rival, Haslam in fifth. The front row was made up of Cal Crutchlow, Jonathan Rea, Michel Fabrizio and Jakub Smrz. When the lights went off Rea took the lead, followed by poleman Crutchlow, with Biaggi in third in front of Fabrizio. During the second lap the outcome of the race was already clear: Rea and Crutchlow had taken off, while behind them Biaggi had a hard time in keeping the same pace, so that Fabrizio passed him and tried to reach the two in front. Fabrizio wasn't successful in his hunt and after a handful of laps he had to slow down with traction problems: he was passed by Haslam, who in turn tried to reach Rea and Crutchlow but had to slow down in the closing laps for gearbox issues. The fight for the win between Crutchlow and Rea finished on the twelfth lap, when Cal hit the front at Copse, leaving Rea behind after a handful of corners, with Jonathan unable to keep the same pace. Crutchlow won his maiden Superbike race, followed by Rea and Haslam for an all-British podium. Race two was a copy of race one: the only difference was the lap when Crutchlow overtook Rea, the sixteenth. Rea tried to fight back this time, but went wide at Stowe, losing contact with Crutchlow, who went on to score the double. Behind them in the opening stages there was a fierce fight between Haslam, Biaggi and Corser, with Troy falling on the second lap just after overtaking Biaggi for third. Max, who was following close, had to slow down, and Haslam took third. Biaggi was helped in his world championship quest by his team-mate Camier, who was able to reach Haslam and pass him on the eleventh lap, finishing third.