The Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies, won both races in round nine of the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park on Sunday.
Race 1
Spies dominated the qualifying session on Saturday and continued by winning the race on Sunday shadowed by the Aprilia Racing rider Max Biaggi.
On the final lap of the race it looked like all the hard work from Biaggi had been wasted as his machine came almost to a halt, just a couple of hundred yards from the chequered flag. However, after a bit of weaving by the Italian he picked up speed and shot across the line to take his place on the podium, it was later confirmed that he had some sort of fuel problem.
Noriyuki Haga on the Ducati Xerox bike took the final step of the podium followed in fourth place by Leon Haslam on the Stiggy Motorsport Honda.
Shane Byrne was right on the tail of Haslam for the Sterilgarda Ducati team ahead of the second Aprilia Racing bike ridden by Shinya Nakano in sixth.
Jonathan Rea on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda took seventh followed by John Hopkins on the second Stiggy Honda, Jakub Smrz on the Guandalini Racing bike was in ninth and Ryuichi Kiyonari on the Ten Kate Honda Racing bike to complete the top ten riders.
Here are the results;
1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 34′57.230 (158,831 kph)
2 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 7.156
3 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 10.968
4 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 18.843
5 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 19.125
6 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 21.286
7 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 23.644
8 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 32.849
9 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 32.904
10 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 33.192
11 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 34.535
12 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 35.093
13 22 Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 35.441
14 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 39.034
15 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 41.067
16 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 46.452
17 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 47.924
18 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 48.246
19 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 50.932
20 117 Andrews S. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 55.032
21 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 55.216
22 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′02.758
23 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′02.977
24 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1′12.255
25 79 Young B. (USA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′12.531
RET 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR
RET 27 Ellison J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R
RET 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR
Race 2
The second race was again dominated by the American rider Ben Spies, who started the race as he meant to go on, creating a gap from the off, and claiming his tenth win of the 2009 season.
Noriyuki Haga crashed out from second place on lap 5 of the race while trying to bridge the gap between himself and Spies. The Ducati rider was taken to a Derby hospital and was treated for a fracture to the ulna in his right arm. Haga today underwent surgery to insert a plate and screws to the ulna which has been deemed a success, the multiple fractures discovered to his left shoulder will heal on their own and did not need intervention. The team believe it would still be possible for Haga to ride at the next round at Brno but he will not take part in the test due at Imola.
British rider Leon Haslam, took the Stiggy bike across the line to claim the second step of the podium, after battling for the position with Michel Fabrizio on the Ducati Xerox and Shane Byrne on the Sterilgarda machine. Haslam finally made his move stick with three laps of the race remaining and said that he had been spurred on by the British fans at his home track.
Fabrizio finished in third ahead of Byrne in fourth after suffering technical problems in race one. The Italian had broken the lap record during qualifying but a gear problem saw him sliding backwards to finally finish in twelfth position, but he was back on the podium in the second race after jumping on his spare bike.
Neither of the Aprilia Racing riders finished the second race with Biaggi crashing out on lap 4 at the Melbourne hairpin. The Italian got back on his machine only to make contact again with another rider and later x-rays showed he had received a hairline fracture to his right foot. Fortunately, with the three week break now before Brno, Biaggi is expected to be fit to ride in the next round.
Shinya Nakano, on the second Aprilia, amazingly walked away without injury when he crashed at high speed just after the opening lap of race two.
John Hopkins was not on the grid for the second race despite finishing the first race in eighth place from thirteenth in qualifying. Hopkins apologised to his fans and supporters for not taking part but was said to be suffering so much pain from the first race that he could not carry on.
Simon Andrews, riding as a wild-card, achieved his aim of a top ten finish in race two for the Kawasaki team after qualifying in twenty-sixth position.
Leon Camier was another wild-card rider this weekend, claiming sixth in race two after starting in twenty-second place. The Airwaves Yamaha rider demolished his number one bike during provisional qualifying and on the spare could only manage seventeenth position. In both races he made a terrible start but fought his way back to the top in race two. His team-mate James Ellison, crashed out in the first race but finished an impressive eighth in race two.
Here are the results;
1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 35′14.788 (157,512 kph)
2 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 6.622
3 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.816
4 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 7.349
5 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 8.145
6 22 Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 13.463
7 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 15.751
8 27 Ellison J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 16.837
9 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 22.891
10 117 Andrews S. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 30.347
11 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 30.622
12 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 31.562
13 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 32.148
14 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 32.607
15 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 32.806
16 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 34.269
17 79 Young B. (USA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 40.644
18 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 40.956
19 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 41.302
20 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 42.856
21 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 47.769
RET 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R
RET 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R
RET 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory
RET 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R
Blake Young, 21, will be riding the Suzuki Alstare machine this weekend at Donington Park replacing injured rider Max Neukirchner for this World Superbike Championship round.
Young is currently negotiating a ride with American Suzuki for the Rockstar Makita Suzuki Team in the American Superbike series and had gone along to the Misano World Superbike race with his mentor, former World Champion Kevin Schwantz when he was approached by the team.
Fonsi Nieto has replaced Neukirchner at the last three round of the championship but it will be Young who will be on the grid at Donington after getting approval from American Suzuki.
Neukirchner is not expected to return until the Brno round on the 24-26 July as he recuperates from his horrendous injuries suffered at Monza. He is currently undergoing several physiotherapy treatments, focusing on the upper body and his left leg while his right leg is given time to heal fully.
Sunday saw round eight of the World Superbike Championship take place at the Misano Adriatico circuit in Italy with Ben Spies and Jonathan Rea sharing the wins.
Race One
On his first visit to the Misano circuit Ben Spies on the Yamaha World Superbike claimed his eighth win of the season in a flag-to-flag race.
Due to bad weather in the qualifying session, none of the riders were able to improve on their times in Q2 so the times remained the same as Q1.
Jakub Smrz on the Guandalini Racing Ducati, qualified in pole position during Superpole with an impressive time of 1:35.434 ahead of Jonathan Rea on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda and Ben Spies on the Yamaha World Superbike.
Starting with a wet track the first half of the race was dominated by the Sterilgarda Ducati rider Shane Byrne until the riders re-entered the pits to swap bikes for a rapidly drying circuit.
Spies was on the ball immediately with his dry set-up and went on to take the victory with a gap of nearly eight seconds from second place man Byrne.
Michel Fabrizio on the Ducati Xerox machine finished in third after fighting off Smrz who was also aiming for that final step on the podium. In fifth place was Noriyuki Haga on the second Ducati Xerox after passing Yukio Kagayama on the Suzuki Alstare in the closing laps of the race. Haga admitted to struggling with his tyre choice during the race meaning he was unable to push as much as he wanted to.
Jonathan Rea finished in seventh place after starting from the pit lane after developing fuel problems on his sighting lap. He was followed by Tom Sykes on the second Yamaha World Superbike, Shinya Nakano on the Aprilia Racing machine and Matthieu Lagrive on the Althea Honda completing the top ten.
Rea and Ryuichi Kiyonari on the Ten Kate Honda Racing machine were both given a drive-through penalty after the Japanese rider gave Rea a lift back to the pits during the sighting lap.
Leon Haslam on the Stiggy Motorsport bike blamed himself for his dismal twelfth place finish in the first race after making a bad decision to stay out longer than he should have on wet tyres leaving him too short of time to challenge the front runners.
Here are the results:
1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 45′02.773 (135,093 kph)
2 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 7.931
3 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 11.836
4 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 11.886
5 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 31.670
6 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 33.241
7 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 35.772
8 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 41.931
9 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 51.507
10 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 59.921
11 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1′04.285
12 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′04.313
13 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′19.822
14 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1′22.412
15 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′31.635
16 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′39.830
17 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′42.964
18 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′43.303
19 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R
20 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR
21 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1
22 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R
23 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R
NC 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR
NP 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR
Race 2
A fantastic battle took place during the second race of the day between Irish rider Jonathan Rea, Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga.
Rea started from second on the grid he had passed race leader Haga on lap four to take the lead and continued to swap the lead with the Japanese rider and Fabrizio several times before making it stick on the final lap to claim his first WSB victory.
Fabrizio finished in second ahead of championship leader Haga in third and Jakub Smrz in fourth. Carlos Checa on the second Hanspree Ten Kate Honda finished in fifth place after being passed by Smrz on the final lap followed by Shane Byrne in sixth.
Here are the results;
1 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 39′11.204 (155,293 kph)
2 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 0.063
3 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 0.457
4 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 3.635
5 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 4.460
6 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 4.538
7 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 12.679
8 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 12.763
9 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 13.237
10 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 14.412
11 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 20.073
12 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 20.239
13 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 22.351
14 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 24.547
15 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 24.696
16 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 25.615
17 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 31.887
18 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 34.751
19 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 38.061
20 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 47.717
21 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 48.973
22 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 51.027
23 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 52.526
24 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 57.589
25 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′36.359
RET 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R
Gregorio Lavilla will be continuing his ride with the Guandalini Ducati team after it was decided that Brendan Roberts is not back to 100% fitness and will sit out the next two rounds.
The Australian suffered injuries at the Monza circuit when he was hit from behind on the first corner of the first lap, which then pushed his bike into the back of Max Neukirchner wiping him out with a broken leg.
Roberts main problem is a torn quad muscle which is refusing to heal, leaving the rider struggling to walk. He has been told that if the injury does not heal itself soon he may have to undergo surgery to correct the problem.
Lavilla will once again be on the grid at Misano and Donington before the team decide, in July, if Roberts is fit to return to work.
The former World Superbike rider Simon Crafar has been seriously injured while riding an Enduro bike in Romania after being hit by a car according to reports. He was immediately air-lifted from the scene and taken to Barcelona in Spain.
It was reported that he had fractured a vertebra in the accident and has undergone a nine-hour operation to have a metal plate inserted to stabilise his spine.
The 40-year-old from New Zealand, won the Malaysia Superbike Championship back in 1991 before joining the World Superbike series in 1993.
In 1994, Crafar was riding alongside Aaron Slight on the semi-works Rumi Honda RC45 before moving to the Kawasaki team for a couple of years from 1995.
In 1998, he rode WCM Yamaha in the 500cc Championship where he took the win at Donington Park and finished seventh overall.
Crafar returned to the World Superbike Championship in 2000 as a replacement rider for Aaron Slight for two rounds and in 2002 raced in the British Superibike Championship for the Yamaha team, where he completed two podium places and ended the year eighth overall.
It is believed that Simon’s wife is with him at his bedside and that he has movement in his legs which is a good sign, let’s hope he makes a quick and full recovery.
