Max Biaggi - Aprilia 2010

Max Biaggi took victory in both races at the weekend for the Aprilia team at his home circuit of Monza and also set the record for the fastest superbike ever recorded in a straight line.  The Aprilia team are now leading the manufacturer’s standings for the first time.

Race 1

As the first race of the day got underway it was Biaggi who led the race as the riders headed into the first corner ahead of the the two Yamaha Sterilgarda riders James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow.  Leon Haslam followed in fourth position on the Alstare Suzuki with Leon Camier on the second Aprilia in fifth.

Haslam launched an attack on Biaggi on lap 4 of the race, briefly taking the lead after out-braking the Italian heading into Prima Variante.  Two laps later, Biaggi retook the lead as the riders headed across the start/finish line while Troy Corser on the BMW who had moved into third position from twelfth on the grid was shuffled backwards.

The Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea look set to challenge the leading rider after passing the Yamaha pair on the back straight to take third before losing the front end of his machine putting him out of the race and his bike over the tyre wall.

Cal Crutchlow was seen riding across the chicane escape lane after a near run-in with Haslam under braking going into turn 1 while on lap 13, Haslam made his move on Toseland to take second place.  However, Haslam made a mistake and ran wide letting Toseland back past followed by Crutchlow leaving the Suzuki rider back in fourth place.

Crutchlow then began his challenge on Toseland, taking second after passing the British rider on lap 14 but was unable to hold the position for long and gave Biaggi the chance he needed to create a bit of space between himself and the other front runners.

On the final lap, Toseland and Crutchlow were once again on the tail of Biaggi but the Italian continued a faultless race to take his seventh career win at his home circuit.  Toseland crossed the line to take second ahead of Crutchlow with Haslam in fourth.

Leon Camier finished in fifth position after starting in thirteenth position followed by Spanish rider Ruben Xaus on the BMW in sixth, Michel Fabrizio on the Ducati in seventh, Troy Corser in eighth, Tom Sykes for the Kawasaki team in ninth and Sylvain Guintoli on the Suzuki in tenth.

Here are the results;

1 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 31′07.044 (200,504 kph)
2 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 0.247
3 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 0.297
4 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 0.958
5 2 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 4.493
6 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 7.343
7 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 7.369
8 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 9.344
9 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 15.338
10 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 16.761
11 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 16.921
12 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 22.231
13 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 22.602
14 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 22.742
15 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 26.266
16 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 26.415
17 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 26.968
18 77 Vermeulen C. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 36.964
19 95 Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 51.646
20 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 71 Sakai D. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R1000
RET 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 31 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR
EX 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R

Race 2

Max Biaggi took his Aprilia across the line to secure his second win of the day in front of his home crowd on the Aprilia in an incident packed second race.

The riders managed to make it cleanly through the Prima Variante but it all went wrong as James Toseland got sandwiched between Jonathan Rea and Michel Fabrizio, sending him and his bike down onto the circuit, Toseland was then caught up between his catapulting Yamaha and the Aprilia of Leon Camier. The British Rider was taken to hospital suffering from mild concussion while Rea, who was also injured in the incident, suffered a sprained ankle.  Ruben Xaus was another casualty from the same accident, managed to walk away unscathed but was out of the race.

Biaggi continued to lead the race followed by Troy Corser who had worked his way into second place from twelfth on the grid.  Tom Sykes had moved up to third position but was soon passed by both Haslam and Crutchlow.

Haslam was soon challenging for the leading spot, passing Biaggi at the Roggia chicane but once again the Brit made a mistake and the lead was retaken by Biaggi as they headed down the home straight followed by Crutchlow in second.

Haslam was nearly out of contention on lap 9 while coming out of the first chicane, as he was seen lifting off of his seat but miraculously regained his position although nearly taking Corser along with him.

Crutchlow was now free to challenge Biaggi until on lap 13 when his engine gave up and he was forced to take to the gravel trap.

Biaggi crossed the line to take his second chequered flag of the day 4.5 seconds ahead of Haslam and Corser. Leon Camier finished in an impressive fourth place despite getting caught up in the tangle at the start of the race followed by the Kawasaki of Tom Sykes in fifth.

Noriyuki Haga took his Ducati across the line to finish in sixth place ahead of Sylvain Guintoli in seventh, Jakub Smrz in eighth, Shane Byrne in ninth and Luca Scassa in tenth.

Here are the results;

1 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 31′07.122 (200,496 kph)
2 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 4.547
3 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 5.469
4 2 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 10.267
5 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 15.561
6 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 15.816
7 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 15.861
8 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 20.977
9 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 21.920
10 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 21.974
11 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 27.152
12 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 29.315
13 77 Vermeulen C. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 30.858
14 95 Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 47.160
15 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR1000RR 48.824
RET 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R
RET 31 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R
RET 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR
RET 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR

Following two all-British podiums at the last round from Assen, fans have more reason than ever to tune in to British Eurosport 2 and follow the racing LIVE from start to finish next Sunday (May 9) from 9.30am.

Joining Eurosport presenter Tony Carter in the WSB studio will be former rider James Haydon and current BSB series leader Tommy Hill, while commentary will come from Jack Burnicle and James Whitham.

TV coverage includes WSB Superpole along with the Superstock 600 race broadcast live and in full on Saturday, followed by the two WSB races live on the Sunday programme.

Saturday 8 May – Superbike World Championship
1400-1500 LIVE Superpole on British Eurosport 2
1700-1730 LIVE Superstock 600 on British Eurosport 2

Sunday 9 May – Superbike World Championship
0930-1530 LIVE race day on British Eurosport 2
1100-1200 LIVE race one on Eurosport HD
1700-1745 Race two on Eurosport HD

Yoshimura Suzuki Team

The Yoshimura Suzuki team have confirmed that they will now make their first of three appearances at the next round of the World Superbike championship, having missed out on their planned outing at Assen due to the grounding of airlines after the Icelandic volcano eruption.

The Japanese rider Yukio Kagayama will be on the modified version of the Suzuki GSX-R1000 at the Italian circuit, the winning bike of the Suzuki 8 hour race.

The team are also planning on using the same rider and machine for the final race of the season at Magny-Cours in October but in September will have the rider Daisaku Sakai at the Imola circuit.

Vittorio Iannuzzo - Valencia 2010

Italian rider Vittorio Iannuzzo is to miss this weekends round of the World Superbike championship at Assen after suffering an injury to his hand at the Spanish round earlier in the month.

In race two, there was contact made between the Kawasaki replacement rider Simon Andrews and Iannuzzo, seeing Andrews thrown into the wall followed by his machine and suffering a broken foot.  Iannuzzo was seen moments later riding off circuit, dropping his bike and in obvious pain.

The Honda rider has said that he is unable to get his glove over his hand at the moment and so he will be unable to participate in this weekends race but does expect to be back for the Monza round of the series.

February 28                                 Australia                                                               Phillip Island

March 28                                       Portugal                                                               Portimão

April 11                                             Spain                                                                   Valencia (*)

April 25                                          Netherlands                                                           Assen

May 9                                               Italy                                                                          Monza

May 16                                            South Africa                                                          Kyalami

May 31                                            United States                                                        Salt Lake City

June 27                                          San Marino                                                            Misano

July 11                                             Czech Repub.                                                        Brno

August 1                                         Great Britain                                                         Donington Park

September 5                                Germany                                                                  Nürburgring

September 26                              Italy                                                                            Imola (*)/(**)

October 3                                        France                                                                       Magny Cours

(*) = To be confirmed

(**) = Subject to homologation

Makoto Tamada - Assen 2009

Sheridan Morais is returning to the Kawasaki World Superbike seat this weekend, replacing the injured Makoto Tamada at the Magny Cours round of the championship.

Tamada was side-swiped off of his Kawasaki at the last round of the championship at Imola by wild-card rider Luca Conforti, after only five laps of the opening race at the final chicane.  The Japanese rider banged his head in the crash and although not knocked unconscious he suffered a slight concussion and cannot remember the accident.

For the fourth time this season, Tamada will have to sit in the wings while another rider replaces him on the Kawasaki, although he his hoping to be fit for the following round.

The South African Superbike Champion replaced Tamada at the Monza round, finishing thirteenth and eleventh and had a second chance to race for the team at the Brands Hatch triple-header, where he presented the team with a tenth and an eight place.

Yukio Kagayama - Suzuki Alstare - Misano 2009

The Japanese rider Yukio Kagayama, will be the sole team rider for the Suzuki Alstare crew, after it was decided not to put a replacement on the grid for the injured Max Neukirchner.

Neukirchner was due back to work at the Brno round of the World Superbike Championship after recovering from a broken leg received at the Monza round, through no fault of his own.  He had been looking forward to getting back on his machine and attended the three-day practice session at Imola.  Unfortunately, the 26-year-old German, suffered further injuries at the test after a crash left him with a fractured vertebra.

The former Suzuki rider Fonsi Nieto, had been replacing Neukirchner at previous rounds of the championship but he is now committed to the DFX Ducati team, leaving Suzuki with just Kagayama, who is still suffering from an ankle injury himself.

Jakub Smrz - Guandalini Racing - Assen 2009

The World Superbike team Guandalini Racing, have announced that they will be racing with only one rider at the coming round of the championship at Brno, Jakub Smrz.

The latest victim of the economic crisis as well as waiting for payments from their sponsor, has seen the team having to scale down their operation.  However, the rumours have been doing the rounds for a while that the Australian rider Brendan Roberts would be ousted from the team.

Roberts suffered an horrific crash at the first corner of the Monza round, when Makoto Tamada ran into the back of him, forcing his Ducati into Max Neukirchner.

It looked likely that the replacement rider Gregorio Lavilla, would be riding until the end of the season after several rides for the team, but sadly not.

Smrz, who is currently standing eighth in the championship, will be riding in front of his home crowd in Brno but admitted it isn’t his favourite circuit.

The Guandalini team confirmed that Smrz will be remaining with them for the 2010 season and issued the following statement;

“Following the results obtained over the course of the season with Jakub Smrz, Guandalini Racing will exercise its option to renew their contract him for the 2010 season.”

Smrz claimed his first pole position at Misano this season, much too every one’s amazement and also took his place on the podium at Assen, a first for him and the Guandalini team.

Max Neukirchner - Alstare Suzuki WSB

The returning Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner, has suffered further injuries after crashing out in the three-day test at Imola.

Neukirchner, made his first track appearance this week after breaking his leg at the Monza round of the World Superbike Championship.  It was unsure, up until recently, whether the German rider would recover before the end of the season, however, he healed remarkably quickly and had looked comfortable back on his machine during the first day of testing.

In the morning session of the second day at the Imola circuit, Max crashed heavily exiting the Tamburello corner and was thrown onto his back.  He was initially seen at the tracks Clinica Mobile before being taken to the local hospital for further tests.  The injuries appeared to be minor until x-ray’s revealed a fracture in his lower back as well as three minor cracks in other vertebrae.

Neukirchner will now return to his home in Germany where he must remain in a plaster cast for the next 30 days and have complete rest.  It looks unlikely that Max will return again this season after having suchunbelievably bad luck but lets hope he makes a quick recovery and returns to the grid as soon as possible.

Max Neukirchner - Suzuki Alstare 2009

The teams and riders of the World Superbike Championship, will begin the official three-day test next week at Imola, for the first time in three-years.

On day one of the test, the Superstock machines take to the track leaving the two days free for the Superbike and Supersport riders.

Since the series last tested at the circuit in 2006, many changes have taken place including a new chicane on the main straight, approved by Claude Danis.  The track now features new pit garages as well as an international standard media centre.

Max Neukirchner will be returning to work for the Suzuki Alstare team after his horrendous accident at the first corner at Monza.

Michel Fabrizio will be the sole rider for the Xerox Ducati team while Noriyuki Haga continues to recuperate from his accident at Donington which left him with a broken arm and fractured scapula.

It is also rumoured that Matteo Baiocco, who recently lost his ride with the PSG-1 Corse team after they withdrew from the championship with financial difficulties, is to ride as a wild-card for the DFX Ducati team alongside Lorenzo Lanzi.

Other riders attending the test are ; Makoto Tamada (Kawasaki WSB Team), (Yamaha WSB) Ben Spies & Tom Sykes, (Ten Kate Honda) Carlos Checa, Jonathan Rea & Ryuichi Kiyonari, (BMW Motorrad) Troy Corser & Ruben Xaus, (Aprilia Racing) Max Biaggi & Shinya Nakano, (Stiggy Racing Honda ) Leon Haslam & John Hopkins.

The first day of testing takes place on Tuesday 14th July until Thursday 16th July 2009.