VOL. 56 ISSUE 8 FEBRUARY 26, 2019 P67
two third places in the remaining
races.
The ex-BSB Champion,
Haslam, has been relishing his
return to WorldSBK and been put-
ting in real results already, despite
his race-one tip off at Honda
corner.
The much-discussed Moriwaki
Althea Honda team is as official
in terms of tech and bikes
as the team could have
hoped to be, but a multi-
colored Leon Camier was
unable to go as fast, relative
to his peers at least, in
races as he had been in
tests or practice. Camier
was a faller, for no reason
we could see at a fast turn
two in race one, then he
was 13th in the sprint, and
10th in race two. A work in
progress.
But in those three real
races in Australia there was
only one winner, a small
man with a big talent and a
big new bike, Alvaro Bautis-
ta. He leads the championship on
62 points from Rea (49), Melandri
(30), Lowes (30) and van der
Mark (29).
WorldSSP
Randy Krummenacher and his
Bardahl Evans Bros Yamaha
teammate Federico Caricasulo
put in the performances of the
early race at Phillip Island, which
was once again a two-parter, to
stave off real worries about tire
life.
The two-part race, over 16-laps,
was eventually won by an easing-
but he qualified fourth after the
Saturday Superpole, which is
now a straight all-outer for 25
minutes.
The many and various Yama-
has would fight and scratch like
cats in a bag in each race for
some good points scores, but no
more podiums would come after
Melandri's career-restarting third
in race one.
The second-fastest Super-
pole qualifier, Kawasaki's Leon
Haslam, recovered from a race-
one 15th after a fall, to score
Rea beat Marco Melandri to
the line in race one for second,
as the Italian took his supposedly
private Yamaha to third place, rid-
ing cannily through from a ninth-
place grid position. It was vintage
Marco, as he approaches his
veteran years.
Lowes, Van der Mark,
Razgatlioglu—Yamaha, Yamaha,
Kawasaki—were all on existing
bikes, or just bikes with reworked
engines.
Another potential podium man
if the cards had fallen right, Tom
Sykes, was seventh in race one.
The new BMW project is ahead
of schedule, just not as far ahead
as Ducati, obviously. Sykes would
have less luck on Sunday, in 13th,
WorldSBK returnee
Leon Haslam (91) had
some proper scraps
with new teammate
Jonathan Rea (1).
