Max Biaggi - Aprilia 2010

Max Biaggi was cheered on by his home crowd at the weekend after winning both races for the Aprilia team at the Italian circuit in Misano.

Race One

It was the BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Troy Corser that led the first race of the day for the first 16 laps until he was passed by the Italian Aprilia rider.

Leon Haslam got off to a terrible start and was shuffled back to ninth place after being forced wide by the Suzuki Alstare rider Sylvain Guintoli through the first bend.

Jonathan Rea who had qualified in sixteenth on the grid, barged his way through to eighth place early on in the race before being passed by Haslam on lap 3.

The front five runners, Corser, Biaggi, Carlos Checa, Guintoli and Michel Fabrizio soon managed to create a gap as the battle went on for sixth place between Cal Crutchlow and Noriyuki Haga.  Crutchlow made a mistake on lap 4 after making a move past Haga and low-sided off of his machine and was out of the race.

On lap 9, Biaggi made a move on Corser to take the lead but only briefly as Corser retook his position before the whole sequence took place once again leaving Biaggi this time in front.

As Corser tried to keep the pressure on Biaggi he ran wide at the left hand bend at Quercia allowing Checa a chance to get past him.

Biaggi fought off the attempts of Checa to pass him and crossed the line to take his seventh win of the season ahead of Checa and Corser.  Fabrizio finished in fourth followed by Guintoli in fifth.

Leon Camier on the second Aprilia crossed the line in sixth place after qualifying in fourteenth on the grid ahead of Noriyuki Haga for seventh place.  Haslam finished in eighth place followed by Shane Byrne and James Toseland in ninth and tenth respectively.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 24 laps
2. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +0.387s
3. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +0.822s
4. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +4.911s
5. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +5.916s
6. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +8.658s
7. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +11.872s
8. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +11.907s
9. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +16.490s
10. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +18.458s
11. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +18.646s
12. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +19.315s
13. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +25.405s
14. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +31.671s
15. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +39.658s

16. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +48.137s
17. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +56.316s
18. Federico Sandi ITA Gabrielli Aprilia RSV-4 +56.667s
19. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +57.218s

Not Classified

20. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 8 laps completed
21. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 4 laps completed
22. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1098R 1 lap completed

DQ. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR

Race Tw0

In the second race of the day at the Italian circuit it was Troy Corser who once again led as the riders headed into the first corner ahead of Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi.

Biaggi was briefly dropped back to fourth place after being passed by fellow Italian Michel Fabrizio on lap 2 before setting a new lap record.  The Aprilia rider soon got his head down and began to chase down third place man Checa who was shuffled back to the field by Fabrizio and then Biaggi.  Haslam and Crutchlow followed the lead and both made their moves on Checa dropping him back to sixth place.

Fabrizio past Corser on lap 7 of the race to take the lead as Biaggi also made his move slip in behind his fellow countryman for second place.

It didn’t take long for the Aprilia rider to get past Fabrizio and finished four seconds ahead of the second placed man for his fourth double win of the season.

The battle continued for second place with Haslam also passing Fabrizio on lap 14 while Fabrizio had then to deal with a challenging Crutchlow. The Ducati rider had his position snatched away on lap 24 before retaking it within the next two laps.

Haslam crossed the line for second followed by Fabrizio in third, Crutchlow in fourth, Checa in fifth, Guintoli in sixth, Shane Byrne seventh, Luca Scassa in eighth, Noriyuki Haga in ninth and Corser in tenth.

Corser made a mistake on the final lap after running off the circuit while trying to defend his position from the pressuring of Carlos Checa.  James Toseland failed to finish the race after falling from the Yamaha Sterilgarda at turn one of lap 11.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 24 laps
2. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +4.095s
3. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +4.631s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +5.014s
5. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +6.256s
6. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +7.677s
7. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +10.144s
8. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +10.942s
9. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +13.640s
10. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +16.279s
11. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +17.799s
12. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +22.793s
13. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +24.131s
14. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +28.212s
15. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +36.551s

16. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +49.636s
17. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +50.041s
18. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +51.246s
19. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +58.174s
20. Federico Sandi ITA Gabrielli Aprilia RSV-4 +1min 10.688s

Not Classified

21. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 10 laps completed
22. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 7 laps completed
23. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1098R 2 laps completed

This weekend saw the South African round of the World Superbike championship take place at the Kyalami circuit with Michel Fabrizio taking victory in race one and Leon Haslam winning race two.

Race One

Michel Fabrizio dominated race one as the lights went out from the start of race one at Kyalami for the Ducati Xerox team.

The Italian slotted into the lead at the first bend after qualifying in fourth place on the grid ahead of British rider James Toseland on the Yamaha Sterilgarda machine.

Carlos Checa put his Ducati in front of Toseland before the end of the first lap with Leon Haslam in fourth and the two Aprilia’s of Leon Camier and Max Biaggi in fifth and sixth places.

Biaggi soon passed his team-mate for fifth place before passing Toseland to move into fourth.  Toseland was then passed by Camier, Cal Crutchlow and Jonathan Rea as he drifted backwards on the grid.

Rea was on a mission as he passed Crutchlow, and then made an impressive move on Camier and Toseland at the same time, passing them on the outside of the bend following Mineshaft.

Fabrizio crossed the line to take the fourth World Superbike win of his career followed by Checa in second and Haslam in third.

Here are the results;

1. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 24 laps
2. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +1.098s
3. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +5.049s
4. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +6.974s
5. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +13.710s
6. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +13.848s
7. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +16.064s
8. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +16.231s
9. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1198 +16.580s
10. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +23.100s
11. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +24.561s
12. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +25.504s
13. Sheridan Morais RSA EmTek Aprilia RSV-4 +27.073s
14. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +27.273s
15. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +30.692s

16. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +34.008s
17. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +35.948s
18. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +44.030s
19. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +48.382s

Not Classified

20. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 13 laps completed
21. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR 11 laps completed
22. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 6 laps completed

Race Two

Leon Haslam took the second race of the day after passing Jonathan Rea on the penultimate lap of the race in a surprising finish.

Rea moved into the lead of the race after a fantastic start and some impressive moves despite starting from eleventh position on the grid on the Ten Kate Honda machine.

It was Haslam that took to the front of the pack as the race got underway ahead of Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa and Rea.  The Honda rider then passed Checa on the inside before being gifted another place by Biaggi who made a mistake allowing the British rider his position.

Rea then got his head down to chase down the leading man Haslam but had the lead handed to him when Haslam made a mistake at Westbank under braking.

With Rea followed by Haslam and Biaggi, the three remained challengers for the victory while Checa, Fabrizio and Crutchlow had their own race behind.

Haslam attempted to retake the lead on lap 7 but the move only allowed Biaggi to slot into second position and make his own challenge on Rea.  Rea was having none of it and closed the door as the Italian tried to pass at Continental.

On lap 14, Haslam bullied his way back into second place before once again attempting the front place as they entered Continental allowing Rea back in front.

The three continued to race for that number one spot with Haslam succeeding again going into Continental as he squeezed through forcing Rea to sit up on his machine and see the Alstare Suzuki rider cross the line to take the win.

Leon Camier was forced to retire his Aprilia with only four laps of the race remaining after developing problems with his bike.

Here are the results;

1. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 39mins 52.870s
2. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +0.522s
3. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +0.601s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +0.991s
5. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +1.479s
6. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +13.324s
7. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +13.740s
8. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +14.250s
9. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1198 +15.190s
10. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +16.790s
11. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +21.101s
12. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +22.670s
13. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +24.506s
14. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +31.301s
15. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +31.836s

16. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +33.710s
17. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +35.203s
18. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +55.929s
19. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +56.074s
20. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 08.481s

Not Classified

21. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 17 laps completed
22. Sheridan Morais RSA EmTek Aprilia RSV-4 10 laps completed

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

Jonathan Rea - Hanspree Ten Kate Honda 2010

Jonathan Rea completed a successful weekend for the Ten Kate Honda team after a pole position and winning both races at the Assen round of the World Superbike Championship.

Race 1

After starting from pole position, Rea sat behind Troy Corser on the BMW Motorad and Leon Camier on the Aprilia.  Jakub Smrz was in fourth followed by Max Biaggi and an impressive James Toseland who had started from the third row of the grid.

Toseland soon made a pass on the Aprilia of Biaggi, slotting his Yamaha Sterilgarda into fifth position by lap 2 and begun to hunt down the leading pack.

Leon Haslam had dropped back to ninth position by lap 4 after making a mistake going into the chicane and by lap 5 the Suzuki Alstare rider was out of a point scoring position after another error.  It was later discovered that Haslam had been suffering from a slow puncture throughout the race.

With Troy Corser leading the race, Rea made his move up to second position after passing British rider Camier and by lap 10 had fought his way past the race leader.  Toseland had moved up to third position ahead of Smrz and Camier.

Corser stuck to the tail of Rea while be challenged by both Toseland and Camier for his position but before long both had managed their task seeing Corser out of a podium spot once again.

With only three laps of the 22 lap race to go, Toseland made a move to pass Rea at the chicane which he did but only briefly after making a mistake by running wide and allowing Rea to re-pass.

Camier also made an unsuccessful move on Toseland, passing him on the inside of lap 10 but he too ran wide allowing Toseland back through.

As Rea crossed the line to take the chequered flag, Toseland claimed the second position on the podium with an impressive Camier in third.  Carlos Checa took fourth position ahead of Corser in fifth, Biaggi in sixth, Smrz in seventh, Cal Crutchlow in eighth, Shane Byrne in ninth and points leader Haslam in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 35mins 38.483secs
2. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +1.106s
3. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +1.249s
4. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +1.548s
5. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +2.738s
6. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +2.813s
7. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1198 +6.296s
8. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +12.022s
9. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +12.146
10. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +19.753s
11. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +22.204s
12. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +22.282s
13. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +22.780s
14. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +23.364s
15. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +37.097s

21. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR 9 laps completed
22. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 8 laps completed

Race 2

Jonathan Rea went on to claim the victory in the second race of the day despite a spectacular battle between eight of the best WSB riders vying for the number one spot.

Despite being beaten off the line once again by Troy Corser, Rea had taken the lead position by the end of the first lap, however, Corser regained the front spot by lap 4.

Leon Haslam was in third position with Leon Camier in fourth, Jakub Smrz in fifth and James Toseland in sixth followed closely behind by Max Biaggi, Shane Byrne, Carlos Checa and Cal Crutchlow.

As Corser, Rea and Haslam all challenged for the lead, it was Corser who moved backwards until once again retaking the front spot on lap 10.

The three riders continued their battle at the front of the field, swapping the leading position between them.

While Haslam led the race for the first time, Rea began to put his foot down with only seven laps remaining.  Rea passed Haslam at the final bend as the Suzuki Alstare rider made yet another mistake.  The pair continued to swap positions before Rea finally managed to hold onto it seeing him take the top step of the podium for the second time followed by Haslam in second.

Corser had been passed by both Toseland and Camier before the Aprilia rider sneaked up to take third place at turn 12.  Camier managed to create a gap between himself and Toseland only to run wide at turn 14, running over the kerb and causing him to lose the rear of his machine and ending his possible second podium spot of the day.

Toseland took the third spot on the podium ahead of Max Biaggi in fourth, Troy Corser in fifth, Carlos Checa in sixth, Jakub Smrz in seventh, Shane Byrne in eighth, Max Neukirchner in ninth and Ruben Xaus in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 35mins 43.137secs
2. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1.942s
3. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +3.928s
4. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +4.067s
5. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +4.176s
6. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +4.525s
7. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1198 +4.682s
8. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +7.698s
9. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +9.903s
10. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +11.465s
11. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +15.489s
12. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +23.604s
13. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +29.085s
14. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +35.401s
15. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +44.330s

18. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 20 laps completed
19. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 11 laps completed
20. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 6 laps completed
21. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 0 laps completed
22. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 0 laps completed

Max Biaggi -Aprilia Racing 2009

Max Biaggi on the Aprilia Racing machine, took provisional pole position today for the Brno round of the World Superbike Championship in the Czech Republic.

Biaggi was the only rider to set a time of under two-minutes, staying ahead of his fellow Italian Michel Fabrizio on the Ducati Xerox Team bike, who finished less than a tenth-of-a-second behind.

Carlos Checa on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda, finished in third place followed by Ben Spies on the Yamaha World Superbike in  fourth and Lorenzo Lanzi on the DFX Ducati in fifth.

Troy Corser on the BMW Motorrad Team Alpha Racing machine, crossed the line sixth fastest ahead of the second Aprilia Racing bike of Shinya Nakano in seventh.

The second BMW of Ruben Xaus was in eighth place followed by the Kawasaki World Superbike rider Broc Parkes in ninth and Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama completing the top ten riders of the day.

Shane Byrne on the Sterilgarda Ducati finished in eleventh ahead of John Hopkins on the Stiggy Honda, who had crashed during the session.

Noriyuki Haga, back on the Ducati Xerox team bike, made steady progress during the session, finishing in fifteenth place overall, a mere 1.080 seconds off the fastest lap set by Biaggi.

Another rider returning to the championship was Makoto Tamada for the Kawasaki Superbike Racing team.  The Japanese rider ended the day in seventeenth place after his final lap, which would have seen him in fourth position, was annulled after it was deemed he had started his fast lap after the chequered flag had been shown.

Here are the results;

1 3 M.BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′59.982
2 84 M. FABRIZIO ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 2′00.066
3 7 C. CHECA ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 2′00.205
4 19 B. SPIES USA Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 2′00.558
5 57 L. LANZI ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 2′00.581
6 11 T. CORSER AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 2′00.603
7 56 S. NAKANO JPN Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2′00.648
8 111 R. XAUS ESP BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 2′00.731
9 23 B. PARKES AUS Kawasaki World Superbike R.T. Kawasaki ZX 10R 2′00.887
10 71 Y. KAGAYAMA JPN Suzuki Alstare BRUX Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2′00.958
11 67 S. BYRNE GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 2′01.017
12 121 J. HOPKINS USA Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 2′01.021
13 65 J. REA GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 2′01.023
14 96 J. SMRZ CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 2′01.031
15 41 N. HAGA JPN Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 2′01.062
16 66 T. SYKES GBR Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 2′01.070
17 100 M. TAMADA JPN Kawasaki World Superbike R.T. Kawasaki ZX 10R 2′01.385
18 91 L. HASLAM GBR Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 2′01.403
19 9 R. KIYONARI JPN Ten Kate Honda Racing Honda CBR1000RR 2′01.439
20 14 M. LAGRIVE FRA Honda Althea Racing Honda CBR1000RR 2′01.720
21 99 L. SCASSA ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 2′02.155
22 77 V. IANNUZZO ITA Squadra Corse Italia Honda CBR1000RR 2′02.346
23 10 F. NIETO ESP DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 2′02.644
24 25 D. SALOM ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 2′02.691
25 94 D. CHECA ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 Ipone Yamaha YZF R1 2′02.785
26 53 A. POLITA ITA Celani Race Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2′02.940
27 88 R. RESCH AUT TKR Suzuki Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2′04.041
28 51 M.CIHAK CZE ProRace Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2′04.905

Ben Spies - Donington Park

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

Jonathan Rea 2009

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

Ben Spies

Ben Spies, was yet again the man on a mission after dominating the two races at the Miller Motorsport Park circuit on Sunday.

Race One

The Sterilgarda Yamaha rider Ben Spies set the pole position record in qualifying on Saturday, his seventh consecutive pole position.

The first race was stopped on lap 7 after the Celani Race Suzuki rider Karl Muggeridge crashed out and was left lying in the middle of the circuit, bringing out the red flag.  He eventually walked away and suffered only bruising.

At the restart the Ten Kate Honda rider Ryuichi Kiyonari beat Spies into the first corner but only held it until turn three when Spies took the lead.

Spies disappeared into the distance and finished the race nearly 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field on a race was being run on aggregate times.

The Hanspree Ten Kate Honda rider Carlos Checa finished in second place followed by Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio in third.

Ryuichi Kiyonari finished in fourth place ahead of Jonathan Rea on the second Hanspree Ten Kate Honda and Max Biaggi on the Aprilia Racing machine.

Noriyuki Haga, who is currently leading the championship, had a huge crash during practice and suffered a bruised back, seeing him finish the first race back in ninth place.

Tom Sykes, team-mate of Spies, was still struggling with his machines set-up and managed only a thirteenth place in the first race.

Hanspree Honda Althea rider Tommy Hill, didn’t make the starting grid after an accident in the second qualifying session on Saturday entering  ‘Attitude’ corners.  The British rider was soon back at the circuit after being checked over at the hospital but the team decided it would be better for Hill to rest after suffering bad bruising and taking a hit to the head.

Here are the results;

1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 21 laps
2. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +9.394s
3. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1098R +12.742s
4. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +14.278s
5. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +14.915s
6. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +15.461s
7. Jamie Hacking USA Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +22.901s
8. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +25.425s
9. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1098R +25.870s
10. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +26.093s
11. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R +28.181s
12. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +29.275s
13. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 +38.365s
14. Gregorio Lavilla ESP Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +39.454s
15. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +39.513s

DNS. Tommy Hill GBR HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR

Race Two

The second race was merely a repeat of the first with Spies yet again taking the win after leading from the first corner.

Fabrizio followed in second place after an excellent start ahead of Jonathan Rea who took the final step of the podium.

Spanish rider Carlos Checa crashed out on lap 4 after clipping the kerb on entering the ‘Attitude’ chicane while running in third position, ending his race.

Luca Scassa high sided off his Team Pedercini machine after he was clipped by Jamie Hacking on the Kawasaki bike.   Hacking who was using his second bike and battling for thirteenth place when he was hit by Hacking, the replacement rider for the injured Makoto Tamada, at high speed and suffered a broken metatarsus of his left foot.

Leon Haslam had a disappointing weekend after a tenth place in the first race and a DNF in race two.  Haslam on the Stiggy Motorsport Honda had qualified in twelveth on the grid for the second race, before working his way up to fourth and then third as he briefly passed Rea.  Rea took back the position as he got into the slip stream of the Stiggy on the long straight, but before long Haslam was once again on his tail, desperate for that final podium position.  As he lined up Rea on the final lap, Haslam clipped a kerb at the problematic ‘Attitude’ chicane and down he went, ending his chances.

Here are the results;

1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 21 laps
2. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1098R +9.080s
3. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +14.357s
4. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +15.636s
5. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +17.156s
6. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +17.545s
7. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +19.659s
8. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1098R +23.456s
9. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 +30.489s
10. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R +31.775s
11. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R +33.246s
12. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +36.758s
13. Fonsi Nieto ESP Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +36.857s
14. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R +37.290s
15. Jake Zemke USA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +42.639s

DNS Karl Muggeridge AUS Celani Suzuki GSX-R1000
DNS. Tommy Hill GBR HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR

Noriyuki Haga 2009

Last weekend round 6 of the World Superbike Championship took place at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa with Noriyuki Haga winning the double.

Race One

In race one Noriyuki Haga on the Ducati Xerox took the win ahead of his team-mate Michel Fabrizio in second and Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies.

Haga was the fastest off the line as the lights turned to green alongside the two Ducati Xerox riders Spies and Fabrizio.

Behind the top three were the next group of riders consisting of Carlos Checa on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda, Sheridan Morais, replacement rider for the injured Kawasaki rider Makoto Tamada and Leon Haslam on the Stiggy Motorsport Honda.

Spanish rider Ruben Xaus on the BMW Motorrod Team Alpha Racing machine crashed out on the second lap as Fabrizio passed his team-mate to take the lead.  He stayed at the front until 13 laps left to run when Haga retook the lead and held on to take the chequered flag.

Jonathan Rea on the second Hanspree Ten Kate Honda was fighting Max Biaggi on the Aprilia RSV4 for that fourth place but Rea held on to take the position.

Carlos Checa then held-up Biaggi, as Leon Haslam went down and was out of the race with 10 laps of the race remaining.

Biaggi finished in fifth place followed by Checa in sixth and Shinya Nakano on the second Aprilia in seventh.  In eighth position was Yukio Kagayama on the Suzuki Alstare ahead of Shane Byrne on the Ducati Sterilgarda and Tom Sykes on the second Yamaha World Superbike to complete the top ten.

Here are the results;

1 4 41 N.HAGA JPN Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 24 1′38.622 251,2 1′37.544 247,8 25 225 1
2 2 84 M.FABRIZIO ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 24 0.950 1′38.548 250,7 1′37.289 249,5 20 145 3
3 1 19 B. SPIES USA Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 24 3.391 1′38.674 247,8 1′37.288 247,8 16 162 2
4 5 65 J. REA GBR HANNspree Ten Kate HondHaonda CBR1000RR 24 8.914 1′38.827 250,7 1′37.634 248,9 13 90 7
5 3 3 M.BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 24 9.019 1′38.875 256,0 1′37.466 252,4 11 92 6
6 7 7 C. CHECA ESP HANNspree Ten Kate HondHaonda CBR1000RR 24 14.812 1′38.851 249,5 1′37.940 245,5 10 63 11
7 9 56 S. NAKANO JPN Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 24 14.971 1′39.102 250,1 1′37.935 247,2 9 43 15
8 13 71 Y. KAGAYAMA JPN Suzuki Alstare BRUX Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 24 15.723 1′39.037 253,6 1′38.130 251,2 8 60 12
9 14 67 S. BYRNE GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 24 21.529 1′38.983 249,5 1′38.171 248,9 7 48 14
10 8 66 T. SYKES GBR Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 24 21.795 1′39.354 254,2 1′38.241 248,4 6 96 5
11 16 36 G.LAVILLA ESP Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 24 29.872 1′39.262 246,7 1′38.733 242,8 5 5 21
12 12 9 R. KIYONARI JPN Ten Kate Honda Racing Honda CBR1000RR 24 34.216 1′39.619 247,2 1′38.081 245,0 4 69 10
13 11 132 S. MORAIS RSA Kawasaki World Superbike RK.aTw. asaki ZX 10R 24 34.275 1′39.176 250,7 1′38.013 246,1 3 3 23
14 6 96 J. SMRZ CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 24 38.280 1′39.463 250,7 1′37.677 247,8 2 58 13
15 17 23 B. PARKES AUS Kawasaki World Superbike RK.aTw. asaki ZX 10R 24 40.885 1′39.998 247,8 1′38.766 245,5 1 18 18
16 21 10 F. NIETO ESP Suzuki Alstare BRUX Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 24 44.841 1′39.543 241,7 1′39.831 242,2
17 18 99 L. SCASSA ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 24 49.075 1′40.142 241,2 1′38.779 239,5 3 26
18 22 31 K. MUGGERIDGE AUS Celani Race Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 24 49.702 1′40.101 244,4 1′39.852 243,9 4 22
19 20 33 T. HILL GBR Honda Althea Racing Honda CBR1000RR 24 50.065 1′40.708 247,8 1′39.001 246,7 6 20
20 19 25 D.SALOM ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 24 50.391 1′40.468 243,3 1′38.880 242,2
21 24 49 S. WHYTE RSA Yamaha France GMT 94 IpoYnaemaha YZF R1 23 1 Lap 1′42.224 243,9 1′41.737 240,1
22 23 17 S. MARTIN AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 22 2 Laps 1′41.715 244,4 1′41.227 241,7

Race Two

Once again it was Haga and Spies dominating race two with Haga claiming his sixth win of the season for the Ducati Xerox team.

Haga led for all but one of the laps in his second race of the day with Fabrizio again on his tail seeing the two swapping places on the final lap a couple of times.

Spies was out of contention by lap 3, after returning to the pits with a gearbox problem leaving Jonathan Rea to take his first podium position of the season for third.

Leon Haslam took the fourth place for the Stiggy Honda team ahead of Max Biaggi on the Aprilia and Carlos Checa in sixth.

In seventh place was Shinya Nakano followed by Yukio Kagayama in eighth, Tom Sykes in ninth and Jakub Smrz in tenth.

Here are the results;

1 4 41 N.HAGA JPN Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 24 1′38.577 248,9 1′37.544 247,8 25 25 250 1
2 2 84 M.FABRIZIO ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 24 0.322 1′38.669 248,4 1′37.289 249,5 20 20 165 2
3 5 65 J. REA GBR HANNspree Ten Kate HondHaonda CBR1000RR 24 8.936 1′38.778 248,9 1′37.634 248,9 13 16 106 5
4 10 91 L. HASLAM GBR Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 24 10.561 1′38.637 246,7 1′37.988 245,0 13 116 4
5 3 3 M.BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 24 10.767 1′38.717 254,8 1′37.466 252,4 11 11 103 6
6 7 7 C. CHECA ESP HANNspree Ten Kate HondHaonda CBR1000RR 24 12.413 1′39.133 249,5 1′37.940 245,5 10 10 73 10
7 9 56 S. NAKANO JPN Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 24 12.616 1′39.055 250,7 1′37.935 247,2 9 9 52 14
8 13 71 Y. KAGAYAMA JPN Suzuki Alstare BRUX Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 24 14.878 1′39.404 252,4 1′38.130 251,2 8 8 68 12
9 8 66 T. SYKES GBR Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 24 16.225 1′38.957 253,0 1′38.241 248,4 6 7 103 7
10 6 96 J. SMRZ CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 24 18.197 1′39.195 251,2 1′37.677 247,8 2 6 64 13
11 11 132 S. MORAIS RSA Kawasaki World Superbike RK.aTw. asaki ZX 10R 24 20.629 1′39.312 251,2 1′38.013 246,1 3 5 8 21
12 16 36 G.LAVILLA ESP Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 24 24.320 1′39.441 245,5 1′38.733 242,8 5 4 9 19
13 12 9 R. KIYONARI JPN Ten Kate Honda Racing Honda CBR1000RR 24 24.564 1′39.506 247,8 1′38.081 245,0 4 3 72 11
14 17 23 B. PARKES AUS Kawasaki World Superbike RK.aTw. asaki ZX 10R 24 38.747 1′39.229 250,7 1′38.766 245,5 1 2 20 18
15 21 10 F. NIETO ESP Suzuki Alstare BRUX Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 24 50.045 1′39.843 246,7 1′39.831 242,2 1 1 29
16 19 25 D.SALOM ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 24 57.999 1′40.799 242,2 1′38.880 242,2
17 20 33 T. HILL GBR Honda Althea Racing Honda CBR1000RR 24 1′05.973 1′40.017 247,8 1′39.001 246,7 6 22
18 23 17 S. MARTIN AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 24 1′28.685 1′41.986 243,3 1′41.227 241,7
19 24 49 S. WHYTE RSA Yamaha France GMT 94 IpoYnaemaha YZF R1 23 1 Lap 1′41.907 240,6 1′41.737 240,1

Michel Fabrizio

Last weekend, round 5 of the World Superbike Championship took place at Monza in Italy with Michel Fabrizio claiming his debut win of the season in race 1.

Race One

A huge crash brought out the red flag at the first corner in race one as Makoto Tamada on the Paul Bird Kawasaki touched the back of Brendan Roberts Guandalini Ducati.  As Tamada went down, the Guandalini machine and rider went onto the grass before sliding across the track, wiping out Max Neukirchner on the Suzuki Alstare.

Behind this, Tommy Hill on the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda and Troy Corser on the BMW had a coming together with Hill’s bike seen flying up into the air before coming down again in flames.

Neukirchner was taken to hospital with a broken femur and dislocated right foot while Tamada suffered a broken wrist.  Roberts was also taken to hospital as a precaution where he had x-rays taken but was diagnosed with heavy bruising .

Neukirchner has since undergone a six-hour operation to repair the broken bone in his right leg and remains in hospital.

Corser was winded in the carnage on track but eventually made it back to the grid for the restart only to be caught up in a further incident in the restart.  It was decided that he would take no further part in the weekends racing to give his body time to recover.

At the restart, Noriyuki Haga on the Ducati Xerox machine took the lead but by the first corner it was his team-mate Michel Fabrizio that was in front.

Second Ducati rider Ben Spies was in third ahead of Max Biaggi on the Aprilia RSV4 and Yukio Kagayama on the Suzuki Alstare.

On lap 4, Fabizio ran wide allowing Spies and Kagayama through with Spies also passing Haga as he got in his slipstream.  Fabrizio soon re-passed his team-mate with 10 laps still to run and setting a new lap record.

As Fabrizio and Haga continued to race, even making contact in their attempts before Fabrizio passed Spies with three laps remaining, even managing a little wave.  However, a lap later Fabrizio ran wide as he approached turn one, letting Spies and Haga in front.

On the penultimate lap, Fabrizio once again passed Haga as Spies pulled over to the side of the track as he ran out of fuel, finally finishing in fifteenth place.

Here are the results;
1 2 84 M.FABRIZIO ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 18 1′45.336 322,6 1′44.270 319,4 25 105 3
2 5 41 N.HAGA JPN Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 18 0.239 1′45.522 319,4 1′45.096 311,2 20 200 1
3 3 9 R. KIYONARI JPN Ten Kate Honda Racing Honda CBR1000RR 18 8.175 1′45.671 318,3 1′44.642 318,3 16 49 11
4 8 71 Y. KAGAYAMA JPN Suzuki Alstare BRUX Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 18 11.001 1′46.244 321,5 1′45.861 323,6 13 52 10
5 6 65 J. REA GBR HANNspree Ten Kate HondHaonda CBR1000RR 18 12.447 1′45.884 319,4 1′45.170 318,3 11 64 9
6 10 66 T. SYKES GBR Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 18 13.693 1′46.006 319,4 1′45.383 317,3 10 80 5
7 14 111 R. XAUS ESP BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 18 19.172 1′46.363 323,6 1′46.571 316,3 9 33 16
8 12 55 R. LACONI FRA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 18 24.989 1′46.885 314,2 1′45.663 315,2 8 72 7
9 9 7 C. CHECA ESP HANNspree Ten Kate HondHaonda CBR1000RR 18 26.930 1′46.339 318,3 1′45.166 323,6 7 47 13
10 13 23 B. PARKES AUS Kawasaki World Superbike RK.aTw. asaki ZX 10R 18 27.418 1′46.657 315,2 1′46.368 322,6 6 14 18
11P 7 3 M.BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 18 27.752 1′46.073 320,4 1′45.605 325,8 5 70 8
12 20 96 J. SMRZ CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 18 29.545 1′46.433 321,5 1′46.522 316,3 4 48 12
13 16 56 S. NAKANO JPN Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 18 30.952 1′47.117 314,2 1′46.928 316,3 3 30 17
14 15 67 S. BYRNE GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 18 31.414 1′47.113 316,3 1′46.593 316,3 2 41 14
15 1 19 B. SPIES USA Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 18 36.998 1′45.446 318,3 1′44.073 316,3 1 121 2
16 19 31 K. MUGGERIDGE AUS Celani Race Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 18 42.732 1′47.005 310,2 1′46.407 308,2 4 21
17 24 15 M.BAIOCCO ITA PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki ZX 10R 18 48.835 1′47.805 311,2 1′47.220 311,2 2 24
18 25 98 J. ZEMKE USA Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 18 48.888 1′47.899 306,3 1′47.751 310,2
19 27 25 D.SALOM ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 18 50.612 1′47.904 308,2 1′47.963 312,2
20 21 33 T. HILL GBR Honda Althea Racing Honda CBR1000RR 18 51.706 1′47.939 313,2 1′47.032 314,2 6 20
21 28 77 V. IANNUZZO ITA Squadra Corse Italia Honda CBR1000RR 18 55.510 1′48.043 312,2 1′48.063 318,3
22 26 94 D. CHECA ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 IpoYnaemaha YZF R1 18 58.214 1′47.135 305,3 1′47.868 309,2
23 18 99 L. SCASSA ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 18 1′01.130 1′46.730 310,2 1′46.372 310,2 1 26
24 29 88 R. RESCH AUT TKR Suzuki Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 18 1′16.850 1′48.904 306,3 1′48.810 302,5

Not Classified
RET 17 91 L. HASLAM GBR Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 17 1 Lap 1′46.406 315,2 1′46.250 315,2 94 4
RET 11 11 T. CORSER AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 0 1′45.543 318,3 35 15

Race Two

Ben Spies took the victory in the second race of the weekend almost 2 seconds ahead of race one winner Michel Fabrizio and Ryuichi Kiyonari on the Ten Kate Honda in third.

Noriyuki Haga was hit by a bird at the beginning of the race seeing him go down at the Parabolica and suffering  muscle laceration and a badly bruised right arm.

As Spies led the field of riders followed by Fabrizio, Kagayama and Rea, Kiyonari began to close in on the four front runners.  Kiyonari passed his team-mate Jonathan Rea while Kagayama was given a ride-through penalty.

Max Biaggi on the Apilia finally got past Britain’s Tom Sykes on the Yamaha World Superbike after the pair battled for that fifth position with Leon Haslam in seventh, despite starting in seventeenth on the grid.

It has since been announced that Troy Corser will now be replace at the next round of the WSB Championship in Kyalami by Steve Martin.  The team decided that after Corser’s double crash at Monza, it would be better to give his battered and bruised body time to recuperate fully ready for the Miller Motorsport Park race at the end of May.

It has also been revealed that Fonsi Nieto will be the replacement rider in South Africa for the injured Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner.

Here are the results:

1 1 19 B. SPIES USA Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 18 1′45.344 314,2 1′44.073 316,3 1 25 146 2
2 2 84 M.FABRIZIO ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 18 2.665 1′45.527 320,4 1′44.270 319,4 25 20 125 3
3 3 9 R. KIYONARI JPN Ten Kate Honda Racing Honda CBR1000RR 18 2.810 1′45.532 318,3 1′44.642 318,3 16 16 65 10
4 6 65 J. REA GBR HANNspree Ten Kate HondHaonda CBR1000RR 18 7.706 1′45.876 320,4 1′45.170 318,3 11 13 77 8
5 7 3 M.BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 18 7.863 1′45.791 325,8 1′45.605 325,8 5 11 81 6
6 10 66 T. SYKES GBR Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 18 10.383 1′46.036 318,3 1′45.383 317,3 10 10 90 5
7 17 91 L. HASLAM GBR Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 18 11.586 1′45.602 315,2 1′46.250 315,2 9 103 4
8 20 96 J. SMRZ CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 18 21.112 1′46.336 322,6 1′46.522 316,3 4 8 56 11
9 14 111 R. XAUS ESP BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 18 22.112 1′46.517 317,3 1′46.571 316,3 9 7 40 15
10 9 7 C. CHECA ESP HANNspree Ten Kate HondHaonda CBR1000RR 18 22.261 1′46.395 321,5 1′45.166 323,6 7 6 53 12
11 12 55 R. LACONI FRA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 18 23.453 1′46.632 312,2 1′45.663 315,2 8 5 77 7
12 16 56 S. NAKANO JPN Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 18 32.956 1′46.792 316,3 1′46.928 316,3 3 4 34 17
13 13 23 B. PARKES AUS Kawasaki World Superbike RK.aTw. asaki ZX 10R 18 37.166 1′46.504 318,3 1′46.368 322,6 6 3 17 18
14 18 99 L. SCASSA ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 18 43.085 1′47.236 315,2 1′46.372 310,2 2 3 24
15 24 15 M.BAIOCCO ITA PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki ZX 10R 18 43.088 1′47.445 314,2 1′47.220 311,2 1 3 25
16 21 33 T. HILL GBR Honda Althea Racing Honda CBR1000RR 18 43.825 1′47.538 314,2 1′47.032 314,2 6 20
17 8 71 Y. KAGAYAMA JPN Suzuki Alstare BRUX Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 18 53.211 1′45.913 321,5 1′45.861 323,6 13 52 13
18P 15 67 S. BYRNE GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 18 1′00.917 1′46.721 315,2 1′46.593 316,3 2 41 14
19 26 94 D. CHECA ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 IpoYnaemaha YZF R1 18 1′17.915 1′46.967 307,3 1′47.868 309,2
20 25 98 J. ZEMKE USA Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 18 1′28.545 1′48.319 306,3 1′47.751 310,2
21 27 25 D.SALOM ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 18 1′29.016 1′48.348 312,2 1′47.963 312,2

Not Classified
RET 29 88 R. RESCH AUT TKR Suzuki Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 17 1 Lap 1′48.072 307,3 1′48.810 302,5
RET 28 77 V. IANNUZZO ITA Squadra Corse Italia Honda CBR1000RR 5 13 Laps 1′47.485 295,1 1′48.063 318,3
RET 19 31 K. MUGGERIDGE AUS Celani Race Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 3 15 Laps 1′47.727 310,2 1′46.407 308,2 4 21
RET 5 41 N.HAGA JPN Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 2 16 Laps 1′47.858 296,0 1′45.096 311,2 20 200 1
NS 11 11 T. CORSER AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 1′45.543 318,3 35 16