For Race 2 Camier lined up on the second row in P4 and after a great opening lap, ran as high as second place in a lead group comprising eight riders for the first half of the race. Meanwhile Jake Gagne, starting from row four in P12 got up to speed and was in a fight for a top ten position before he had a small crash at turn 4. However, the American rider was able to re-join the race.
Following a mandatory pit stop for new tyres at the end of lap 11 – a ruling introduced for Race 2 due to some riders experiencing high tyre wear in Race 1 – Camier and Gagne resumed their push up the field and both riders were able to make up places in the second half of the race.
Camier was especially impressive as he made some bold passing moves to move into P5 towards the end of the 22-lap race, and fighting until the end he crossed the finish line in sixth place, just 2.745 seconds behind the race winner. Gagne recovered from his earlier spill to come home in P13 and wrap up a double-points finish on his first ever race weekend at Phillip Island.
With round 1 completed, Camier is sixth in the WorldSBK championship standings on 19 points, while Gagne is fifteenth overall with 7 points. The Red Bull World Superbike Team will next be in action at round 2 of the WorldSBK season at Chang International Circuit in Thailand from March 23-25.
Leon Camier 2
I gave as much as I could in Race 2, we were really strong in some areas and in other areas not so much but overall I felt very competitive. I could stick with the leading group before and after the pit stop and made some really good passes from a long way back. I had some good battles with Lowes and Sykes and between the two races this weekend I’m really happy with my first race weekend with the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team. Now I just want to keep making progress and see what we can do at the next round in Thailand.
Jake Gagne 45
It was a bittersweet weekend for me; I made a lot of progress on the bike, but the crash today meant I couldn’t get the result me and the Fireblade were capable of. In warm up I was in the top ten and in Race 2 I felt even better, but I got caught up with some other riders and when trying to make a pass at turn four had the door closed on me and crashed. It was a real shame but at least I could recover to finish the race and score some points. Overall, I’ve improved my pace a lot over the weekend and got points in both races so its something to build on. I wish we were going to Thailand tomorrow!
Kervin Bos
It was a very exciting race today and Leon showed what the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 was capable of, running in second place in the early stages. Leon managed to stay in the lead pack for the whole race, but unfortunately for us the pit stop was almost too good as we got Leon away very quickly which meant he couldn’t exit pit lane as fast as the other riders. This cost him a bit of time on his out lap however his pace was good enough that he could catch the lead group again and a P6 finish just two seconds from the race winner was a very good way to end the weekend. Jake also found more pace than he had yesterday but he also had some bad luck with a small crash when trying to pass some slower riders. However he managed to recover and score points again and I know there’s more in the bag for Jake as we get to the next races. Looking over the whole weekend I am pleased with our season start and I’d like to say thanks to all the team, the guys back at the workshop, our partners, sponsors and Honda Europe for all their support so far and now we look ahead to Thailand where we’ll push even harder for some good results.
Australian RoundPhillip Island, Australia
WorldSBK 2018, Round 1
- Air Temp: 20°C
- Humidity: 56%
- Ground Temp: 29°C
| # | Rider | Num | Nationality Nat. | Points Pts. | Team | Constructor Constr. | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marco Melandri | 33 | ITA | 25 | Aruba.it Racing | Ducati | 34’42.633 |
| 2 | Jonathan Rea | 65 | GBR | 20 | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki | +0.021 |
| 3 | Xavi Fores | 12 | SPA | 16 | BARNI Racing Team | Ducati | +0.304 |
| 4 | Tom Sykes | 66 | GBR | 13 | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki | +1.488 |
| 5 | Alex Lowes | 22 | GBR | 11 | Pata Yamaha | Yamaha | +2.474 |
| 6 | Leon Camier | 2 | GBR | 10 | Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team | Honda | +2.745 |
| 7 | Michael van der Mark | 60 | NDL | 9 | Pata Yamaha | Yamaha | +3.098 |
| 8 | Jordi Torres | 81 | SPA | 8 | Althea BMW Racing Team | BMW | +14.391 |
| 9 | Loris Baz | 76 | FRA | 7 | Althea BMW Racing Team | BMW | +14.361 |
| 10 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 54 | TUR | 6 | Grillini Racing Team | Kawasaki | +19.785 |
| 11 | Román Ramos | 40 | SPA | 5 | Team Go Eleven | Kawasaki | +25.237 |
| 12 | Leandro Mercado | 36 | ARG | 4 | IodaRacing Team | Aprilia | +40.504 |
| 13 | Jake Gagne | 45 | USA | 3 | Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team | Honda | +58.923 |
| 14 | PJ Jacobsen | 99 | USA | 2 | Triple M Honda World Superbike Team | Honda | +1’00.084 |
| 15 | Eugene Laverty | 50 | GBR | 1 | Milwaukee Aprilia | Aprilia | +2 laps |
