Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) took sixth place in the only FIM Superbike World Championship race that took place in Monza, after the return of rain at an inopportune moment caused the first race to be cancelled after an earlier attempt to run it.

The first sector was stopped after two laps and therefore negated, and as the riders lined up on the grid for the second attempt the back section of the track was still virtually flooded. Concerns about aquaplaning caused the organisers and the top riders to make an inspection lap in the pace cars, and for reasons of rider safety the race was cancelled.

In the second race the start was also delayed as the Parabolica section was still wet, despite the race being called dry by race direction. The race was supposed to be over 18-laps, then it was dropped to 17, then a final 16, but after rains reappeared yet again the race was stopped after only eight laps. Eventual winner Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) was well clear on his own by that stage, with Rea fighting in a pack. Half points were awarded, meaning that Rea got only five points. He is fifth in the championship, with 70 points. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) leads on 97.5 points, with four rounds and seven races gone.

Rea was less than a second from a podium finish as he was involved in a six-rider fight for the two remaining podium places behind Sykes. He had qualified fifth in Superpole, which was once more run under wet rules.

Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) had a tough time in qualifying at Monza, finishing up 20th on the grid, but he rode with pace and perseverance to finish 11th in a race with 17 finishers. He is an unchanged 13th in the championship standings, with 24.5 points after the half-point rules were invoked.

Cluzel Wins at A Wet Monza as Honda Riders Take A 1-2

French rider Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) won a battle of the CBR600RRs at a wet and wild Monza in the Supersport World Championship class, holding off a late challenge from pole man Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) by only 0.3 seconds. It was Jules’ first win in this class of racing and came after he had qualified only tenth on the grid, at yet another track he had never seen before race weekend. Lowes had made it three poles in a row in qualifying.

With a mixture of wet and dry conditions appearing, particularly from Saturday onwards, finding a good wet set-up was a challenge for all. On raceday the Supersport race had to be delayed after the first Superbike race was cancelled, and rains fell with even greater intensity before the start of the 600cc race.

Lowes and Cluzel made a clean break at the front of the field early in the race and until Lowes made a mistake under braking into the Ascari chicane on lap seven he was happy to do the front running, with Cluzel his shadow. Lowes battled back as the last laps of the 16-lap race timed down and got one final chance to re-pass his PTR team-mate into the Parabolica. He made the pass, but ran slightly wide, just wide enough to let Cluzel drive to the finish line and win.

Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) was third and that gave him a clear championship lead of ten points over Lowes, 61 to 51, with Cluzel the next best Honda rider, in fourth with 48 points.

Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda) used all his racing experience to push for a podium, but he could not resist the late challenge of Sofuoglu. Fourth place, after starting 11th on the grid was his best performance of the year by some distance, as he has missed out on scoring any points until now.

Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) led the race from the start, but crashed under braking into Ascari on the first lap when conditions were fully wet. He restarted but eventually retired with three laps remaining. Parkes had been seventh on the grid and is now sixth in the rankings, on 29 points.

Andrea Antonelli (Lorini Honda) was a top ten man yet again, finishing eighth at Monza, He is 11th in the rankings, one place ahead of his team-mate Roberto Tamburini who missed out on a point by one place today. Raffaele De Rosa joined Lorini Honda at this race and scored a very positive tenth place first time out. Kieran Clarke (Bogdanka Honda PTR) joined the WSS class at Monza and scored 14th, one place up on Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR Honda) as he took his own first point today.

Regular riders Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda) and Balazs Nemeth (Racing Team Toth Honda) each fell from strong position on track, as did Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda).

Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team):
Race result: No Race / 6th - Championship position: 5th

“A tough race and just terrible conditions pretty much all weekend with it being not quite wet or dry in the sessions. All day today it has been changing too. We only did half a day’s work and salvaged sixth, which is OK in the conditions. It was easy to keep in touch with the group as the bike is working so well in the corners, but on the straights I got dropped, so I could never mount a challenge to pass. In the corners the bike is working so good so maybe we go to not such a horsepower circuit we can compete at the front again. It was unbelievable how they could call a dry race when there is still a wet Parabolica and wet parts under the trees out the back. I was one of the only guys again to choose a hard rear tyre and we are getting it to work not so badly and save it for the end of the race – but we did not get there because it was stopped halfway through.”

Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team):
Race result: No Race / 11th - Championship position: 13th

“It was a very weird weekend and we had a lot of changing conditions. In the first race there was too much rain and we decide to stop and I think it was quite a good decision. The second race, as well, there were quite strange conditions, but we eventually had to go with slick tyres. Finally we started the race and I missed the start a little bit and missed turn one also. But from that I started to re-focus for the race and I could catch up and get to eleventh, which is not too bad. The positive thing is that I could feel a little bit more on the bike so this something positive for next weekend in Donington and I’m looking forward to going there now.”

Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda):
Race result: 1st - Championship position: 4th

“I am really happy because I expected to make a podium before now, but it was really hard in Australia and in Imola I made a mistake. Then in Assen it was really hard conditions and I was not easy on the bike. For me, to look at these conditions before the race, I was expecting and hoping for dry conditions, because it was possible to win the race or finish on the podium. But in the wet you do not know what can happen. I pushed for the first two laps and I was second behind Sam and I was happy behind him. The race was really long and I saw that we had a gap over the third placed riders. I knew then I could finish on the podium for sure, which was good for the head. When Sam made a mistake it became another race and after I led it. I knew he could come back and he did it. I wanted to win, but also finish the race and I knew he was just behind me because I felt his engine on the last corner and I knew he would try something. I braked very late and to pass me he had to go inside. He had to run ran wide so it worked out for me. This was very good for the team, a 1-2, and Sam is a really good rider who was pushing hard."

Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda):
Race result: 2nd - Championship position: 2nd

"It was a difficult race because the weather all weekend has been nice and dry for most of our sessions and I did not now what to expect when the rains came down just before we went out. I had good grip and obviously I felt good at the start and led the race, thinking that I did not want to make a mistake like Assen. Then I did make a mistake and it cost me a bit of time at Ascari. In the end it was a good battle to try and catch Jules lap-by-lap and the first chance I had to take was into the last corner and I went in a bit deep and he passed me back.”

Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda):
Race result: DNF - Championship position: 6th

“It was a bit of a mixed up weekend really and it ended up not so well because I crashed in the race. We had pretty good pace in dry conditions, but we ended up with not a whole lot of wet track time and got caught out by a slippery bit of track early on. I just went into the corner and before I knew it was on the ground. We needed to make some points up here so it is a bit of a tougher road now. We need to go to Donington and get some points back.”

Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda):
Race result: DNF - Championship position: 9th

“I got a great start and was up at the front right away and feeling good. I was surprised by the high side on the second lap and it is a real pity as I was feeling good and thinking I could get a decent result. There are a lot of positives though and I am pleased to be back fighting at the front.”

Kieran Clarke (Bogdanka PTR Honda):
Race result: 14th - Championship position: 28th

"It was a tough race. It was really wet on the start, but then it stopped raining and with a few laps to go a dry line started to appear in some parts. That changed the dynamics completely but it was good to score points in my world supersport debut. It was a last minute call to stand in for Pawel and it's been a while since I rode a 600, so it wasn't an easy weekend but I'm very happy with the result and hope we can carry that into Donington and do a good job there too.”

Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR Honda):
Race result: 15th - Championship position: 30th

“I left BSB and got told that I would never have to race in the rain again, but that has not happened! Starting from 25th on the grid was never going to be easy and I got a bad start as well. It was the first time properly on the bike in those conditions and I was coming through the pack quickly. When the last bit of rain came I could not carry that momentum and dropped to 14th, then got drafted to the line for 15th. But at least I got a point on the board today.”

Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda):
Race result: DNF - Championship position: 29th

"I didn't have the best of starts but I was making my way forward. Then, braking to the second chicane, I lost the front while still fully upright and that was it. We had a good pace all weekend and took our season's best grid position with eighth so there are positives to take to next weekend at Donington. It's a circuit I've raced in the past and scored my first podium, so I hope I can keep on improving and have a good weekend there."

World Superbike and World Supersport 2012
Round 04: Monza – Italy

Superbike Race 1

Race1 Canceled Due To Weather Conditions

Superbike Race 2

Rank	Rider (Team)
1	T. SYKES (Kawasaki Racing Team)
2	L. HASLAM (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
3	E. LAVERTY (Aprilia Racing Team)
4	M. MELANDRI (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
5	M. BIAGGI (Aprilia Racing Team)
6	J. REA (Honda World Superbike Team
7	C. CHECA (Althea Racing)
8	D. GIUGLIANO (Althea Racing)
9	J. SMRZ (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert)
10	A. BADOVINI (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet)
11	H. AOYAMA (Honda World Superbike Team)
12	C. DAVIES (ParkinGO MTC Racing)
13	M. BERGER (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing)
14	L. ZANETTI (PATA Racing Team)
15	L. CAMIER (Crescent Fixi Suzuki)

Supersport

Rank	Rider (Team)
1	J. CLUZEL (PTR Honda)
2	S. LOWES (Bogdanka PTR Honda)
3	K. SOFUOGLU (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini)
4	I. TOTH (Racing Team Toth)
5	S. CRUCIANI (Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ItaliI)
6	A. BALDOLINI (Power Team By Suriano)
7	M. ROCCOLI (Bike Service - Wtr Ten 10)
8	A. ANTONELLI (Team Lorini)
9	V. IANNUZZO (Power Team By Suriano)
10	R. DE ROSA (Team Lorini)
11	J. METCHER (Rivamoto Junior Team)
12	F. FORET (Kawasaki Intermoto Step)
13	L. MARCONI (VFT Racing)
14	K. CLARKE (Bogdanka Honda PTR)
15	M. JESSOPP (Riders PTR Honda)