Moscow - WSBK Championship standings

Marco Melandri and BMW lead both World Superbike Championships after the Italian's win and second place at the all-new Moscow Raceway.

Ollie Barstow

26 Aug 2012

Sykes, Race Start, Russian WSBK Race 1 2012
© Gold and Goose

It's been mentioned previously that a few moments of this year's World Superbike Championship could prove pivotal for the title battle, but Max Biaggi's dramatic exit from the second race at the Moscow Raceway could well prove the decider.

Having had Marco Melandri chipping away at a lead that stood at 48 points just three rounds ago, Biaggi was certainly under pressure coming into the second race around the Moscow Raceway having seen his advantage whittled to just 6.5 points.

However, while Melandri was expected to take over the lead of the standings as he forged his way to the front of the field, the manner in which it was achieved is likely to be immortalised as Biaggi's misjudged attempt at passing Jonathan Rea sent him directly into the back of Leon Haslam ahead of him.

A disastrous result for Biaggi - who has suffered two DNFs in the last two rounds - Melandri's win means he is now a comfortable 18.5 points ahead of his countryman in the standings, while BMW is also 26.5 points ahead in the manufacturers' standings.

Other than the change at the top, things remain static elsewhere in the top ten, though a win and a second place finish has moved Kawasaki's Tom Sykes 34 points clear of Carlos Checa in the standings, while he has also closed the gap to second place Biaggi to 22.5 points.

Frustrating days for Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam and Eugene Laverty have all but nixed their chances of reaching the overall top three this year, while Sylvain Guintoli is under pressure from Michel Fabrizio, Davide Giugliano and Chaz Davies for eighth in the standings, the quartet split by just 12 points.

A day of mixed fortunes for almost every rider, only Melandri, Sykes and - surprisingly - Lorenzo Zanetti could muster a pair of top ten finishes in Russia, while Pedercini Kawasaki newcomer Alexander Lundh may have finished well behind in last position on both occasions, but he at least kept it upright to notch up four points on his debut.

2012 eni World Superbike Championship rider standings (After round 11 of 14, previous championship standing in brackets)

1. (2) Marco Melandri BMW Motorrad 308.5
2. (1) Max Biaggi Aprilia Racing 290 points
3. (3) Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing 267.5
4. (4) Carlos Checa Althea Ducati 233.5
5. (5) Jonathan Rea Honda WSBK 212.5
6. (6) Leon Haslam BMW Motorrad 180
7. (7) Eugene Laverty Aprilia Racing 173.5
8. (8) Sylvain Guintoli Effenbert Liberty Ducati/PATA Ducati 127.5
9. (9) Michel Fabrizio BMW Italia GoldBet 119.5
10. (10) Davide Giugliano Althea Ducati 116
11. (11) Chaz Davies ParkinGO MTC Aprilia 115.5
12. (12) Jakub Smrz Liberty Effenbert Ducati 92.5
13. (13) Loris Baz Kawasaki Racing 90
14. (14) Ayrton Badovini BMW Italia GoldBet 85
15. (16) Leon Camier FIXI Crescent Suzuki 77.5
17. (15) Maxime Berger Effenbert Liberty Ducati 67
17. (18) Lorenzo Zanetti PATA Ducati 48
18. (17) Hiroshi Aoyama Honda WSBK 44.5
19. (19) Niccolo Canepa Red Devils Roma Ducati 42.5
20. (21) John Hopkins Crescent Fixi Suzuki 28
21. (22) David Salom Pedercini Kawasaki 19
22. (20) Joan Lascorz Kawasaki Racing 17
23. (23) Leandro Mercado Pedercini Kawasaki 9
24. (24) Peter Hickman FIXI Crescent Suzuki 7
25. (25) Matteo Baiocco Barni Ducati 7
26. (26) Bryan Staring Pedercini Kawasaki 6
27. (27) Alex Polita Red Devils Roma Ducati 4
28. (-) Alexander Lundh Pedercini Kawasaki 4
29. (28) Norino Brignola Grillini Progea BMW 3
30. (29) Mark Aitchison Grillini Progea BMW 3
31. (30) Josh Brookes FIXI Crescent Suzuki 1