At Silverstone the two Yamaha SBK riders won second and third places in both races, and in the Supersports class Davies finished at the top of the podium.

Of course a victory would’ve been even sweeter, but the overall results after both Superbike races were absolutely amazing. Yamaha factory team members Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri handed in excellent performances in both races under the beating sun. Laverty took the lead after the start in the first race and managed to hold it until the sixth lap, when he was forced to yield to Carlos Checa. Melandri had to work hard to join Laverty on the podium because he only started the race in fifth. The second race was almost the same as the first: Laverty thrilled the local spectators with his second-place finish and Melandri finished in third, just a second behind Laverty.

After winning two second places, Laverty said: “Yes I’m happy with the 40 points today. Not a victory, but two second places is quite good. In race one Carlos went by me and pushed on, but I had some limits with the bike so I couldn’t really catch up. In the end, second place was more than enough. In race two I really wanted to push for a victory, especially to cheer up my brother John in hospital, but I’m sure he’s happy with my results. I had a better second race, I changed the tyre and there was an improvement. In the later part of the race I tried to move my body position on the bike and began to close in on Carlos, but when I did he reacted. He had the edge on us today so he would’ve been extremely difficult to beat.”

Four rounds before the end of the championship, Melandri and Laverty hold third and fourth places in the overall standings. Thanks to their excellent performance, Yamaha now holds second place in the manufacturer standings, with the same number of points as Aprilia in third. Things are bound to heat up—we’re keeping our fingers crossed for both teams because both Aprilia and Yamaha are using Akrapovič exhaust systems.

Thanks to Chaz Davies from the Yamaha ParkinGO Team, we still managed to secure a victory in Silverstone: “It was great to get a win at my home race. It was definitely one of the best races of the year. It was a great battle with the guys and I had so much fun. Thanks so much to my team; they did a great job and I want to dedicate the win to my sister, who celebrates her birthday today.”

On his Yamaha YZF-R6, equipped with an Akrapovič exhaust system, Davies now has a 42-point lead over his nearest rival.

Finally, Lorenzo Zanetti from the BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock team won second place. He’s also second in the overall Superstock Championship standings, 11 points behind the first contender.

The next battle in the Superbike, Supersport, and Superstock classes will take place on 4 September at the Nürburgring in Germany.

Photo: Yamaha Racing