The last race of the season confirmed Tom Sykes as World Champion and despite his ankle injury saw Marco Melandri back on the podium after race one with a second place having lead all the way till the last corner. The injury, which he incurred on a domestic ride, had already stopped him from taking part in free practice on Saturday and ultimately prevented him from riding in race two. Camier made a great comeback after his serious leg injury with a good eight and sixth place.
Marco Melandri Nolan X-802R
“The first race was amazing. I gave everything to keep Eugene’s pace. Already with five laps to go I could not ride like I wanted because I could not use my foot properly but it was quite okay thanks to the Clinica Mobile. On the penultimate lap he made a little mistake so I came close to him and could try to make a pass. It was not an easy situation because we were sliding a lot but I was in front on the last lap. Then in the last corner I thought that Eugene has nothing to lose in the championship and could give it a try so I preferred to stay inside but I braked too early. Eugene was very smart so in the end he made a nice pass on me and that was it. I was sorry for my team because I would have liked to celebrate the 100th podium of my career with a win but it was okay like this. Congratulations to Tom and Kawasaki, they had an amazing end of the season. After race one my ankle was too painful. I preferred to listen to my body and not to race. I also did not want to end my time with BMW with a bad result. The last two years were a really important time in my career. I met great people who became really close to me and ready to help me. For sure the most difficult step will be to leave them, because they loved me, and to re-start from scratch. I wish all of them the best for the future, because they are fantastic and deserve the best.”
Here are the final standings for our riders:
Melandri 4th
Fabrizio 7th
Camier 11th
Badovini 12th
Neukirchner 14th
Checa 15th
Looking forward to the 2014 Championship.