Jonathan Rea - Hanspree Ten Kate Honda 2010

Jonathan Rea claimed victory in the opening race at Brno yesterday while Max Biaggi took the chequered flag in race two of the day.

Race One

It was the Aprilia of Max Biaggi that took to the front of the pack as the first race of the day got underway at the Brno circuit but before the end of the lap he had been passed by the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda of Jonathan Rea.  At the final bend of the first lap, Rea went around the outside of the Italian rider to put his machine in front and never looked back.

Biaggi was then passed by Cal Crutchlow on the following lap before Ruben Xaus put his machine in front of the Aprilia rider on lap 4.  The Italian rider soon returned to form and retook Xaus on lap 6 before finally catching and passing Crutchlow with only 4 laps of the race to run.

Rea crossed the line to claim his third win of the 2010 season ahead of Max Biaggi in second.  Crutchlow finished in third place followed by Sylvain Guintoli in fourth, Ruben Xaus in fifth, Noriyuki Haga in sixth and  James Toseland in seventh.

Leon Haslam finished down in eighth place after qualifying in fourteenth on the grid ahead of Carlos Checa in ninth and Lorenzo Lanzi in tenth.

The Kawasaki rider Chris Vermeulen, was involved in a three-bike pile-up at the first corner of lap 1 with Max Neukirchner and Jakub Smrz.  All three failed to return to the track with Vermeulen once again re-injuring his knee that was originally damaged at the first round of the 2010 championship at Phillip Island and it has since been announced that he is to miss the remainder of the season as he undergoes corrective treatment.

Troy Corser withdrew from the Brno round of the championship after suffering concussion and a chest injury following his accident in qualifying but his hoping to be fully fit for the Silverstone round.

Here are the results;

1. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 20 Laps
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +2.518s
3. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +4.071
4. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +7.160s
5. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +8.602s
6. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +11.379s
7. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +11.513s
8. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +16.487s
9. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +20.829s
10. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +25.164s
11. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +32.602s
12. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +36.748s
13. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +39.183s
14. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +59.889s
15. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 05.329s

Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR

Race Two

Max Biaggi claimed his ninth win of the season in race two after his initial battle with race one winner Jonathan Rea as the race got underway.

Rea took the lead as he got ahead of Ruben Xaus, Biaggi, Michel Fabrizio and Cal Crutchlow during the first few corners and looked to be on for his second win of the day.

by lap 3, Biaggi had passed Xaus and was chasing the race leader before finally passing him on lap 7 at turn 2.  Rea attempted to stay with the Aprilia but after just 2 laps Biaggi began to create an impressive gap.

Biaggi crossed the line almost 5 seconds ahead of Rea to take the chequered flag with Fabrizio taking the final step of the podium following the retirement of Xaus. With just 6 laps of the race remaining the Spaniard low-sided off of his BMW at turn one after a fantastic fight with Fabrizio.

James Toseland finished in an impressive fourth place after getting ahead of Noriyuki Haga with only 2 laps of the race to run.  Carlos Checa crossed the line in sixth place followed by Sylvain Guintoli, Leon Camier, Shane Byrne and Leon Haslam.

Despite Chris Vermeulen starting the second race he could only manage 2 laps before being seen heading to his pit garage to retire.

Tom Sykes and Max Neukirchner also failed to finish the second race after both tangled on the opening lap and Luca Scassa was unable to make it to the grid for race two after fracturing his foot in the first race incident.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 20 Laps
2. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +4.627s
3. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +13.600s
4. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +16.372s
5. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +17.530s
6. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +21.704s
7. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +23.769s
8. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +25.875s
9. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +30.374s
10. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +34.002s
11. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +34.691s
12. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +49.270s
13. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 03.258s
14. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +1 lap
15. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1 lap

Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR

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

Max Biaggi - Aprilia 2010

Max Biaggi won both races this weekend for the Aprilia team at the Miller Motorsports Park in Utah while his team-mate Leon Camier made it onto the podium after his best finish so far this season.

Race One

It was Carlos Checa on the Althea Ducati that dominated race one from the start, fighting off a challenging Max Biaggi midway through the race to gain an advantage of almost three seconds.

As the race got underway, it was Leon Camier that managed to squeeze his machine between the Ducati of ChecaBiaggi and his team-mate to slot into second place but only until the next corner when Checa breezed past.  Checa was then on the tail of Biaggi who had taken the lead after a fantastic start but by the second lap Checa went around the outside of the Italian to take his position at the front of the field.

With only two laps of the race left to run and with a comfortable lead over Biaggi, Checa’s Ducati came to a standstill out on circuit, leaving the Spaniard with no option but to park up his bike and return to the pits.

Biaggi crossed the line to take the chequered flag ahead of Leon Haslam who had battled his way back through the field from ninth place after a poor start and with a smoking Ducati ahead of him.  Haslam had been sat behind Jakub Smrz on PATA B&G Racing Ducati when smoke began bellowing out of the bike causing Haslam to inform the marshall’s of the problem which appeared to have gone unnoticed by Smrz.

Haslam was fortunate to be gifted a further two places after Jonathan Rea on the Ten Kate Honda suffered another off following his accident in Superpole and took Cal Crutchlow on the Yamaha Sterilgarda with him.  Both riders managed to make their way back on track but were then at the back of the field.

The Alstare Suzuki rider was now up to sixth position and chasing down Noriyuki Haga on the Ducati Xerox and Checa, passing both riders in an impressive move.  Haga followed Haslam through and the pair were soon harassing Camier who was sitting in third place but Camier held his line leaving until lap 16  when he ran wide allowing  the pair to take advantage of the flying Aprilia.

Biaggi crossed the line to take the chequered flag ahead of Haslam in second and Haga in third.  Leon Camier claimed fourth followed by Troy Corser in fifth, Shane Byrne in sixth, Luca Scassa in seventh, Sylvain Guintoli in eighth, James Toseland in ninth and Ruben Xaus rounding off the top ten riders.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 38mins 20.442secs 21 laps
2. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +4.931s
3. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +6.432s
4. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +8.576s
5. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +11.150s
6. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +11.243s
7. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +12.432s
8. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +15.145s
9. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +16.091s
10. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +16.502s
11. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +18.719s
12. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +24.285s
13. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +36.479s
14. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +39.700s
15. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +41.263s

19. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 19 laps completed
20. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 1 lap completed
21. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1198 0 laps completed

Race Two

Max Biaggi is now leading the World Superbike championship after winning the second race of the day for the Aprilia team.

It was Carlos Checa that once again looked as if he would dominate the race as he out-breaked the Aprilia rider into turn one to take the lead.  Biaggi sat in second position followed by Troy Corser in third from fifteenth position on the grid with Leon Camier in fourth place ahead of Ruben Xaus in fifth.

Leon Haslam had been forced back to tenth place after being pushed aside as the field headed into the first set of bends.  By the second lap, Corser had made a gap of over a second between himself and Biaggi but by lap seven, bad luck had once again stuck the Althea rider as he incurred further technical problems with his bike and was out of the race as he coasted to a halt.

Biaggi was now leading for the second time in two races while behind Leon Haslam had fought his way past James Toseland, Noriyuki Haga, Jonathan Rea and Ruben Xaus to slot into fifth place.  As Haslam began to close on the leading riders disaster struck as the Suzuki rider high-sided after making an error and was out of the race.

Corser was now in second place with Leon Camier in third and Cal Crutchlow in fourth but as the race developed the BMW of Corser began to lose pace allowing Camier to close in on him and move into second on lap 13 with Crutchlow following on the next lap.

Biaggi crossed the line to take the flag for the second time followed by Camier with his best finish so far this season, making it a 1-2 for the Aprilia team. Crutchlow grabbed the third step of the podium in third ahead of Noriyuki Haga in fourth, Corser in fifth, Sylvain Guintoli in sixth, Shane Byrne in seventh, Jonathan Rea in eighth, Michel Fabrizio in ninth and Luca Scassa in tenth.

James Toseland crashed out on lap 15 of the race after losing the front end of his Yamaha Sterilgarda when he came out of one corner too fast leaving him no time to slow down for the next.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 21 laps
2. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +5.899s
3. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +7.363s
4. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +8.842s
5. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +9.473s
6. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +12.293s
7. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +12.483s
8. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +15.959s
9. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +18.897s
10. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +20.372s
11. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +26.823s
12. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +30.344s
13. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +33.337s
14. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +38.772s
15. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +44.994s

16. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1198 18 laps completed
17. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 15 laps completed
18. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 14 laps completed
19. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 12 laps completed
20. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 7 laps completed
21. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 7 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

Jonathan Rea & Noriyuki Haga - Valencia WSB 2010

Leon Haslam and Noriyuki Haga took the victory in the World Superbike races in Valencia, Spain this weekend in another thrilling round of the series.

Race 1

Leon Haslam on the Suzuki Alstare machine claimed the win in the first WSB race of the day after starting from fourth on the grid.

It was Troy Corser on the BMW Motorrad Motorsport bike that took the lead at the start ahead of Haslam, Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi. Newcomer Leon Camier slotted into fifth position as Corser made a move to the front before the end of the first lap before losing the place and taking it back again at the start of the second.

On lap four, Checa lost the front end of his Althea Ducati, despite his best efforts to keep the bike up and facing in the right direction he couldn’t make the next right-hander and was forced into the gravel, ending his race and passing the lead to Corser.

Haslam was leading the race with 19 laps left to run as James Toseland lined-up Camier, taking him a couple of laps later.  Camier had a spectacular crash on lap 8 of the race going into turn 7, forcing Sylvain Guintoli to take evasive action and putting him to the back of the field.

Michel Fabrizio on the Xerox Ducati and the second Althea Ducati of Shane Byrne were also out of the race after both crashed in separate incidents.

Haslam now had a clear lead ahead of Corser, Toseland and Biaggi, however, Toseland made an impressive move on Corser as he slipped into second place on lap 10.  Toseland and Biaggi swapped placed several times over the following laps until Biaggi made the move stick with just 4 laps left to run.

In fourth place was Corser followed by Haga, Jonathan Rea and Cal Crutchlow.  Lorenzo Lanzi finished in eighth while Guintoli had managed to battle his way back to ninth position after his earlier off.

Here are the results;

1 4 91 L. HASLAM GBR Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 23 1′34.787 297,5 1′33.961 295,9 25 110 1
2 3 3 M. BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 23 1.757 1′35.025 300,9 1′33.860 302,6 20 89 2
3 9 52 J. TOSELAND GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda Team Yamaha YZF R1 23 3.621 1′35.007 300,9 1′33.988 295,9 16 41 8
4 5 11 T. CORSER AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 23 4.209 1′35.100 295,1 1′34.059 297,5 13 42 7
5 11 41 N. HAGA JPN Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 23 4.378 1′35.329 297,5 1′34.100 290,3 11 54 4
6 7 65 J. REA GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 23 9.834 1′35.218 300,0 1′34.235 294,3 10 49 5
7 1 35 C. CRUTCHLOW GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda Team Yamaha YZF R1 23 10.466 1′35.243 298,4 1′33.615 296,7 9 34 10
8 8 57 L. LANZI ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 23 16.080 1′35.388 290,3 1′34.261 291,9 8 23 13
9 6 50 S. GUINTOLI FRA Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 23 18.382 1′35.017 297,5 1′34.073 296,7 7 40 9
10 14 96 J. SMRZ CZE Team PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1098R 23 18.589 1′35.841 292,7 1′34.280 292,7 6 14 14
11 18 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX 10R 23 22.903 1′36.100 292,7 1′34.894 291,9 5 12 16
12 17 111 R. XAUS ESP BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 23 25.203 1′36.063 298,4 1′34.756 296,7 4 14 15
13 16 76 M. NEUKIRCHNER GER HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 23 25.676 1′35.910 302,6 1′34.934 294,3 3 8 17
14 15 99 L. SCASSA ITA Supersonic Racing Team Ducati 1098R 23 26.606 1′36.202 288,8 1′34.730 287,2 2 2 19
15 19 88 A. PITT AUS Team Reitwagen BMW BMW S1000 RR 23 43.797 1′36.241 297,5 1′36.088 291,1 1 3 18
16 22 95 R. HAYDEN USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 23 48.094 1′36.782 286,5 1′36.117 288,0
17 21 15 M. BAIOCCO ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 23 48.190 1′36.768 286,5 1′36.104 288,8
18 23 17 S. ANDREWS GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX 10R 23 52.863 1′36.360 287,2 1′36.329 287,2
————————————————–Not Classified————————————————–
RET 24 31 V. IANNUZZO ITA S.C.I. Honda Garvie Image Honda CBR1000RR 12 11 Laps 1′36.919 292,7 1′36.524 288,0
RET 13 2 L. CAMIER GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 7 16 Laps 1′35.104 296,7 1′34.273 296,7 32 11
RET 10 84 M. FABRIZIO ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 5 18 Laps 1′34.880 297,5 1′34.021 295,1 46 6
RET 12 67 S. BYRNE GBR Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 5 18 Laps 1′34.987 291,9 1′34.246 291,1 25 12
RET 2 7 C. CHECA ESP Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 2 21 Laps 1′34.750 282,0 1′33.840 288,8 60 3
RET 25 123 R. RESCH AUT Team Reitwagen BMW BMW S1000 RR 2 21 Laps 1′37.098 290,3 1′36.639 290,3

Race 2

Noriyuki Haga won the second race of the day after race was decided on aggregate after a huge crash just after the start, meaning it would came down to the final lap as the time-sheets decided who would take the victory after the restart.

British Superbike rider Simon Andrews who had been standing-in for the injured Kawasaki SRT’s Chris Vermeulen, collided with Vittorio Iannuzzo on lap 3 on the home straight.  He his the pit wall at considerable speed and was lucky to have come away with only a broken bone in his foot and a damaged heel.

Andrews said;

“Race one was OK and in race two I got a good start and was finding a decent rhythm. When Tom went past me, I was hoping to stay with him and gain some places but the next thing I knew I was hit from behind on the straight and can’t remember much after that.

“The team are saying I am lucky as from what I’ve been told it looked pretty bad on the TV but my left foot is a bit smashed up and pretty painful right now. I have broken the heel and top bone of my foot and have obviously a few bruises to contend with but overall I’m fine.”

Carlos Checa had the advantage as the restart got underway of 0.658 seconds over Jonathan Rea followed by Max Biaggi, Sylvain Guintoli, Noriyuki Haga and Leon Haslam.

Biaggi was away at the start followed by his team-mate Leon Camier in second place after starting from seventh on the grid.  By turn three, Camier was leading Biaggi with a clear track in front of him while Checa moved into second place on lap 7 but the positions were once again reversed by lap 10.

The race however ended in disaster again for Camier on lap 12 when he suffered his second off of the day going over the brow of turn 12, leaving Biaggi in the lead.

Haga was soon on the tail of Checa, passing him and Biaggi on the same lap to take his spot at the front.  Haga now needed to pull a gap to claim the win, he finished just 0.3 seconds ahead of Biaggi but had done enough to take the victory on aggregate.

Haslam finished the race in fourth place ahead of Shane Byrne in fifth, Rea in sixth, Toseland in seventh, Guintoli in eighth, Crutchlow in ninth and Jakob Smrz in tenth.

Here are the results;

1 11 41 N. HAGA JPN Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 23 1′35.070 1′34.100 290,3 11 25 79 4
2 2 7 C. CHECA ESP Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 23 0.025 1′34.681 1′33.840 288,8 20 80 3
3 3 3 M. BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 23 0.299 1′34.632 1′33.860 302,6 20 16 105 2
4 4 91 L. HASLAM GBR Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 23 10.100 1′35.122 1′33.961 295,9 25 13 123 1
5 7 65 J. REA GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 23 12.811 1′35.335 1′34.235 294,3 10 11 60 5
6 6 50 S. GUINTOLI FRA Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 23 13.459 1′35.289 1′34.073 296,7 7 10 50 7
7 9 52 J. TOSELAND GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda Team Yamaha YZF R1 23 14.845 1′35.263 1′33.988 295,9 16 9 50 6
8 12 67 S. BYRNE GBR Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 23 14.861 1′35.288 1′34.246 291,1 8 33 11
9 1 35 C. CRUTCHLOW GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda Team Yamaha YZF R1 23 15.202 1′35.168 1′33.615 296,7 9 7 41 10
10 14 96 J. SMRZ CZE Team PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1098R 23 18.071 1′35.498 1′34.280 292,7 6 6 20 14
11 17 111 R. XAUS ESP BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 23 25.179 1′36.083 1′34.756 296,7 4 5 19 15
12 5 11 T. CORSER AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 23 26.116 1′35.284 1′34.059 297,5 13 4 46 9
13 8 57 L. LANZI ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 23 30.189 1′35.817 1′34.261 291,9 8 3 26 13
14 15 99 L. SCASSA ITA Supersonic Racing Team Ducati 1098R 23 30.387 1′36.282 1′34.730 287,2 2 2 4 18
15 18 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX 10R 23 35.741 1′36.077 1′34.894 291,9 5 1 13 16
16 19 88 A. PITT AUS Team Reitwagen BMW BMW S1000 RR 23 43.244 1′36.115 1′36.088 291,1 1 3 19
17 16 76 M. NEUKIRCHNER GER HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 23 43.540 1′36.264 1′34.934 294,3 3 8 17
18 25 123 R. RESCH AUT Team Reitwagen BMW BMW S1000 RR 23 47.145 1′36.396 1′36.639 290,3
19 22 95 R. HAYDEN USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 23 48.502 1′36.748 1′36.117 288,0
20 21 15 M. BAIOCCO ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 23 51.838 1′37.004 1′36.104 288,8
————————————————–Not Classified————————————————–
RET 10 84 M. FABRIZIO ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 15 8 Laps 1′35.416 1′34.021 295,1 46 8
RET 13 2 L. CAMIER GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 12 11 Laps 1′34.668 1′34.273 296,7 32 12
RET 23 17 S. ANDREWS GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX 10R 3 20 Laps 1′37.854 1′36.329 287,2
RET 24 31 V. IANNUZZO ITA S.C.I. Honda Garvie Image Honda CBR1000RR 3 20 Laps 1′37.211 1′36.524 288,0

Noriyuki Haga - Ducati Xerox 2009

The World Superbike series headed to France this weekend with Ben Spies and Noriyuki Haga sharing the wins at the Magny-Cours circuit.

Race One

It was Ben Spies on the Yamaha World Superbike that led into the first corner of race one with Max Biaggi, Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam and Michel Fabrizio, all fighting for second place.

Rea on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda passed the Aprilia of Biaggi going into the hairpin while Haga on the Ducati Xerox slipped past the Stiggy Honda of Haslam, but not for long as Haslam soon retook his position.

Tom Sykes crashed out on the fast, downhill section to Lycee at the Magny-Cours circuit on the second Yamaha World Superbike but managed to walk away from the accident.

With 19 laps of the race to run, Fabrizio put his Ducati Xerox ahead of Haslam to take fifth position while just two laps later, Jonathan Rea suffered some sort of technical problem and drove into the pit lane to retire.

Haga continued to hassle the Italian rider but couldn’t find a way past the Aprilia until on lap 17, Biaggi made the mistake of leaving a gap wide enough for Haga to get through and beginning to chase down the American, who by now had made a gap of 1.3 seconds.

With only 6 laps of the race remaining and Haga was realising that only a mistake by the Yamaha rider would see him in the lead,and unusually the error occurred with Spies running wide and letting Haga slip up the inside and at the front.  Spies soon retook his spot and cut up the inside at the corner exit.  The two riders were racing side-by-side heading down to Lycee but it was Spies who was first at the bend.

Biaggi took the final step of the podium finishing in third place ahead of Fabrizio in fourth and Stiggy Honda rider Leon Haslam in fifth.  In sixth place was Carlos Checa on the second Hanspree Ten Kate Honda, after qualifying in twelfth on the grid, followed by the Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama in seventh, Shane Byrne on the Sterilgarda Ducati in eighth, Troy Corser on the BMW Motorrad in ninth and Jakub Smrz on the Guandalini Ducati in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 37mins 57.110secs 23 laps
2. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198R +0.181s
3. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +5.009s
4. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198R +16.347s
5. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +22.622s
6. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +24.948s
7. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +27.144s
8. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R +27.578s
9. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +28.486s
10. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +28.716s
11. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +52.680s
12. Matteo Baiocco ITA Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +1min 01.372s
13. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 05.123s
14. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 05.483s
15. David Checa ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 YZF R1 +1min 05.672s

18. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Racing RSV-4 20 laps completred
19. Sheridan Morais RSA Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 13 laps completed
20. Fonsi Nieto ESP DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 12 laps completed
21. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R 10 laps completed
22. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000 7 laps completed
23. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR 5 laps completed
24. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 3 laps completed
25. Karl Muggeridge AUS Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 3 laps completed
26. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 1 lap completed

Race Two

In race two it was Noriyuki Haga on the Ducati Xerox that took the chequered flag, with his eighth win of the season and now leads the championship by 10 points over the Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies.

Haga took the lead from the start while Ben Spies struggled with his machine for the entire race.  After losing the lead to Haga, Max Biaggi was all over the Ducati, making a pass on lap 5 which Haga soon took back.  Biaggi then tried the same move again two laps later, running wide and allowing Jonathan Rea to slip through on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda.

Rea was soon on the tail of the Ducati and the three top riders swapped places several times over the following laps.  The Hanspree Honda rider finally left enough of a gap to allow the Aprilia through and was forced wide as Biaggi retook his second place.

Ben Spies finished in fourth place followed by Leon Haslam, taking his second fifth position of the day for the Stiggy Honda team.  In sixth place was the Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama ahead of Shane Byrne of the Sterilgarda Ducati, Karl Muggeridge on the second Suzuki Alstare, Carlos Checa on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda and Troy Corser on the BMW Motorrad in tenth.

The two leading riders seemed a bit confused as they crossed the line, both Spies and Biaggi continued racing for another lap, oblivious that the race was over.

The British Superbike rider Leon Camier was denied a finish in both races for the Aprilia team after suffering technical difficulties with his machine.

Here are the results;

1. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198R 38mins 00.282s 23 laps
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +1.480s
3. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000 +6.024s
4. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 +18.135s
5. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +21.236s
6. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +23.647s
7. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R +23.701s
8. Karl Muggeridge AUS Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +24.838s
9. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +31.455s
10. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +32.507s
11. Fonsi Nieto ESP DFX Corse Ducati 1098R +37.594s
12. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +44.727s
13. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198R +49.782s
14. Matteo Baiocco ITA Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +50.345s
15. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R +56.209s

DNS Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR
DNS Flavio Gentile ITA Althea Honda CBR1000RR

Noriyuki Haga - Ducati Xerox 2009

Noriyuki Haga claimed his first victory in four-months in race one at Imola yesterday with Michel Fabrizio taking his maiden win of the championship in race two.

Race One

Noriyuki Haga is back in contention for the championship once again, after winning the first race at the Imola round  for the Ducati Xerox team.

Max Biaggi on the Aprilia RSV4, led the race by the end of the first lap after starting from sixth on the grid, he was  followed by Michel Fabrizio, Jonathan Rea and Haga.  Ben Spies was back in fifth place after making contact with the BMW of Troy Corser as they battled to get ahead in the first corner.

On lap 3, Rea on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda, made an error heading over the crest leading onto the Rivazza complex.  Unable to stop, he shot across the path of Fabrizio and Haga before going into the gravel trap and dropping his machine, once back on his feet he managed to get his bike back on circuit but was now in last place.

As the leading four headed into the distance, Spies struggled to keep up with the three front runners as Biaggi came under pressure from the Ducati of Fabrizio who had re-taken second position from his team-mate Haga.

Haga took the second place slot back on lap 8 as they went into Rivazza, before making the same move two-laps later on Biaggi, who straight away fought back for his position.  Haga finally made the move stick on lap 18 of the race with Fabrizio finding his way past the Aprilia after getting a better run coming out of the final chicane.

Spies who had now made his way back to the front of the riders, also tried to take advantage of Biaggi by following Fabrizio through but the Aprilia rider had already seen him and shut the door.

On the final lap, Biaggi reclaimed his second position at the final bend as he dived up the inside of Fabrizio and took his place with just a one hundredth of a second.

Spies finished in fourth place, five seconds behind Haga followed by Ryuichi Kiyonari on the Ten Kate Honda racing machine who had started in fourteenth on the grid.

Leon Haslam took fifth place on the Stiggy Honda after starting in tenth ahead of Jonathan Rea in seventh and Jakub Smrz for the Guandalini Racing team in eighth.

In ninth was Tom Sykes on the Yamaha World Superbike followed by Australian rider Broc Parkes for the Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team.

Marco Simoncelli crashed out of his debut race after replacing the injured rider Shinya Nakano at the Imola circuit.  Running in fifth place at the start of the race after a bad start, Simoncelli crashed out on lap 10 after losing the front of his Aprilia and was forced to retire.

Here are the results;

1. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198R 21 laps
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +2.074s
3. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198R +2.190s
4. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 +5.438s
5. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +14.470s
6. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +14.685s
7. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000 +28.822s
8. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +32.694s
9. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 +33.817s
10. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R +34.801s
11. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +35.296s
12. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +36.442s
13. Karl Muggeridge AUS Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +38.698
14. Matteo Baiocco ITA Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +42.147s
15. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +45.510s

19. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR 13 laps completed
20. Marco Simoncelli ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 9 laps completed
21. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 8 laps completed
22. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 7 laps completed
23. Fonsi Nieto ESP DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 7 laps completed
24. Makoto Tamada JPN Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 5 laps completed
25. Luca Conforti ITA Barni Corse Ducati 1098R 5 laps completed
26. Matthieu Lagrive FRA Althea Honda CBR1000RR 3 laps completed
27. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 2 laps completed

Race Two

Michel Fabrizio took to the front of the pack in the second race of the day after starting in pole position, followed by Noriyuki Haga, Max Biaggi, Shane Byrne and Jonathan Rea.

Spies got off to a terrible start and was back in sixth position as the race got underway from second on the grid.  He moved into fifth place after an error by Rea on lap 1.

Haga soon passed his team-mate to take the lead as Biaggi made a move on Fabrizio but only until lap 5 when the Ducati was back in front of the Aprilia.

By lap 11, Fabrizio was all over the back of Haga, apparently ignoring team orders, and took the lead going into turn one on lap 13.

Marco Simoncelli, on his debut weekend in World Superbikes, claimed an impressive third place on the second Aprilia Racing machine.  After closing in on his team-mate Biaggi, Simoncelli made a daring move and passed him at the Variante Bassa with some late braking, forcing Biaggi into the gravel which in turn also took Spies through the gravel trap as he was pushed wide as Biaggi rejoined the circuit.

Spies finished in fifth place ahead of Jonathan Rea in sixth, Shane Byrne on the Sterilgarda Ducati in seventh, Leon Haslam on the Stiggy Honda in eighth, Jakub Smrz on the second Sterilgarda Ducati in ninth and Carlos Checa for the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda team completing the top ten.

Here are the results;

1. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198R 21 laps
2. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198R +3.592s
3. Marco Simoncelli ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +6.510s
4. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +7.445s
5. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 +14.678s
6. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000 +16.396s
7. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R +17.110s
8. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +22.502s
9. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +25.268s
10. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +30.203s
11. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R +32.649s
12. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 +36.243s
13. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +36.368s
14. Karl Muggeridge AUS Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +38.809
15. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R +42.438s

DNS. Makoto Tamada JPN Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R
DNS. Luca Conforti ITA Barni Corse Ducati 1098R

Race One Crash Nuburgring 2009

Ben Spies is now leading the World Superbike Championship after winning race one and finish second in race two as Noriyuki Haga crashed out.

Race One

The red flags were deployed as race one got underway after John Hopkins on the Stiggy Honda, lost the rear of his machine going into turn one, collecting the pair of Paul Bird Kawasaki riders Broc Parkes and Makoto Tamada on the way.  Both Tamada and Hopkins were taken to hospital with concussion.

At the restart, it was Haga that led the pack across the line followed by Jonathan Rea on the Ten Kate Honda and Spies.

With 16 laps of the race to run, Spies passed Rea but  the Irishman reclaimed the position one lap later before immediately losing it again as he ran wide.  Spies then set about chasing Haga who had managed to create a 1 second gap.

The Yamaha rider made his move on Haga on lap 10 but couldn’t pull away from the Japanese rider until the penultimate lap .

Spies crossed the line to take his twelfth win of the season followed by Haga, who was riding for the first time since suffering a huge crash at Donington Park.

The Hanspree Ten Kate Honda of Carlos Checa crossed the line to take the third step of the podium after holding off his team-mate Jonathan Rea.

The battle for fifth place was taken by Max Biaggi on the Aprilia RSV4, after he had reclaimed the place taken by Leon Haslam a few laps previous.  Haslam finished in sixth for the Stiggy Honda team ahead of Michel Fabrizio on the Ducati Xerox machine.

Troy Corser on the BMW claimed eighth place after running as high as fourth during the race, he was followed by Tom Sykes on the second Yamaha World Superbike and Shane Byrne in tenth on the Sterilgarda Ducati.

Richard Cooper, who was riding as a replacement rider for the BMW man Ruben Xaus, crashed out of the race while running in fifteenth spot.

Here are the results;

1 5 19 B. SPIES USA Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 20 1′56.558 272,7 1′55.938 272,7 25 344 2
2 1 41 N. HAGA JPN Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 20 3.850 1′56.539 270,0 1′55.489 272,0 20 346 1
3 8 7 C. CHECA ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 20 6.990 1′56.924 270,7 1′56.699 266,7 16 161 7
4 2 65 J. REA GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 20 7.109 1′57.013 272,7 1′55.749 272,0 13 219 4
5 7 3 M. BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 20 12.825 1′56.775 274,8 1′56.440 272,0 11 211 5
6 3 91 L. HASLAM GBR Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 20 13.243 1′57.001 270,7 1′55.776 270,0 10 190 6
7 4 84 M. FABRIZIO ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 20 14.223 1′56.933 272,7 1′55.927 269,3 9 282 3
8 6 11 T. CORSER AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 20 14.382 1′56.943 268,0 1′56.296 268,7 8 61 16
9 9 66 T. SYKES GBR Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 20 17.206 1′57.201 271,4 1′56.406 269,3 7 157 8
10 10 67 S. BYRNE GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 20 26.547 1′57.730 268,7 1′56.663 266,0 6 140 9
11 16 14 M. LAGRIVE FRA Honda Althea Racing Honda CBR1000RR 20 27.388 1′57.638 265,4 1′57.293 266,0 5 24 19
12 17 31 K. MUGGERIDGE AUS Suzuki Alstare BRUX Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 20 30.968 1′57.866 268,0 1′57.515 270,0 4 8 29
13 14 96 J. SMRZ CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 20 31.069 1′57.774 274,1 1′57.091 272,0 3 135 10
14 18 9 R. KIYONARI JPN Ten Kate Honda Racing Honda CBR1000RR 20 31.188 1′57.609 268,0 1′57.522 266,7 2 121 11
15 13 71 Y. KAGAYAMA JPN Suzuki Alstare BRUX Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 20 40.165 1′58.150 267,3 1′56.901 265,4 1 97 12
16 25 99 L. SCASSA ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 20 54.897 1′58.889 268,0 1′59.521 262,8 3 34
17 23 25 D. SALOM ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 20 1′01.958 1′59.246 262,8 1′59.058 260,2
18 27 88 R. RESCH AUT TKR Suzuki Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 19 1 Lap 2′01.239 258,4 2′02.102 254,1

Race Two

In race two, it was Jonathan Rea on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda that took his second victory of the season despite a late challenge by Sterilgarda Yamaha rider Ben Spies.

As the lights went out for the start of race two, it was Noriyuki Haga that led the riders into the first corner followed by BMW rider Troy Corser, Carlos Checa on the second Hanspree Honda and Leon Haslam on the Stiggy Honda.

Rea was in seventh place on his Honda as the front leaders headed into the first bend, but passed Spies before the end of lap one.  Carlos Checa passed the BMW of Troy Corser before attempting a move on Haga but ran wide as Rea made his way past Leon Haslam, Michel Fabrizio and Troy Corser.

Carlos Checa again made a move to pass Haga but this time it worked, however, he was unable to keep the pace and  Haga reclaimed his position on the following lap with Rea in his tow as Leon Haslam passed Checa for fourth place.

As Haga passed the Hanspree Honda on lap five at the hairpin, the Japanese rider went slightly wide giving Rea a glimpse of a pass.  As Haga moved back to the racing line he made contact with the Honda and crashed-out.  He was unable to restart his bike and was out of the race and lost his lead in the championship.

Leon Haslam was now sitting in third, moving his way up to second a couple of laps later when he passed the Honda of Carlos Checa.

Ben Spies was now on a charge and passed Checa with twelve laps of the race remaining, Spies then passed Haslam on the inside, forcing the Stiggy rider wide and allowing Checa back through.  Haslam was then passed by Max Biaggi on the Aprilia, demoting the Brit to fifth place.

Jonathan Rea took the chequered flag ahead of  Ben Spies in second and Carlos Checa in third.  Max Biaggi finished the race in fourth place followed by Leon Haslam in fifth and Troy Corser in sixth.

Ryuichi Kiyonari on the Ten Kate Honda Racing machine, finished in seventh place ahead of Tom Sykes on the second Yamaha World Superbike, Michel Fabrizio on the Ducati Xerox in ninth and Yukio Kagayama on the Suzuki Alstare in tenth.

Shane Byrne on the Sterilgarda Ducati crashed out midway through the race and Richard Cooper crashed with only five laps left to run.

Here are the results;

1 2 65 J. REA GBR HANNspree Ten Kate HondHaonda CBR1000RR 20 1′56.234 274,1 1′55.749 272,0 13 25 244 4
2 5 19 B. SPIES USA Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 20 0.786 1′56.358 277,6 1′55.938 272,7 25 20 364 1
3 8 7 C. CHECA ESP HANNspree Ten Kate HondHaonda CBR1000RR 20 4.993 1′56.535 271,4 1′56.699 266,7 16 16 177 7
4 7 3 M.BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 20 8.191 1′56.728 273,4 1′56.440 272,0 11 13 224 5
5 3 91 L. HASLAM GBR Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR 20 10.907 1′56.414 272,0 1′55.776 270,0 10 11 201 6
6 6 11 T. CORSER AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 20 17.152 1′57.088 268,0 1′56.296 268,7 8 10 71 16
7 18 9 R. KIYONARI JPN Ten Kate Honda Racing Honda CBR1000RR 20 19.473 1′57.052 269,3 1′57.522 266,7 2 9 130 11
8 9 66 T. SYKES GBR Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1 20 19.721 1′57.250 271,4 1′56.406 269,3 7 8 165 8
9 4 84 M.FABRIZIO ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 20 22.981 1′56.924 268,0 1′55.927 269,3 9 7 289 3
10 13 71 Y. KAGAYAMA JPN Suzuki Alstare BRUX Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 20 24.161 1′57.372 265,4 1′56.901 265,4 1 6 103 12
11 14 96 J. SMRZ CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 20 29.367 1′57.404 269,3 1′57.091 272,0 3 5 140 10
12 11 10 F. NIETO ESP DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 20 30.007 1′57.553 266,7 1′56.670 267,3 4 17 21
13 15 23 B. PARKES AUS Kawasaki World Superbike RK.aTw. asaki ZX 10R 20 37.281 1′58.100 266,7 1′57.098 266,0 3 34 18
14 25 99 L. SCASSA ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 20 47.883 1′58.635 271,4 1′59.521 262,8 2 5 32
15 20 77 V. IANNUZZO ITA Squadra Corse Italia Honda CBR1000RR 20 49.549 1′58.692 266,0 1′59.279 265,4 1 2 36
16 21 15 M.BAIOCCO ITA Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 20 49.635 1′58.553 270,0 1′58.637 261,5 3 35
17 23 25 D.SALOM ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 20 1′19.554 1′59.920 259,0 1′59.058 260,2
18 24 94 D. CHECA ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 IpoYnaemaha YZF R1 20 1′22.329 2′00.126 261,5 1′59.467 262,1

Makoto Tamada - TT Assen 2009

Makoto Tamada, the Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team rider, was back on the grid at the Brno round of the World Superbike Championship after recovering from hand and finger injuries received at Monza.

Tamada was involved in the carnage that took place in race one at the first corner of the Monza circuit, bringing out the red flag.  The Kawasaki rider ran into the back of the Guandanlini Ducati of Brendan Roberts, sending him sliding across the track and into the path of Max Neukirchner on the Suzuki Alstare, who suffered a badly broken leg.

The Japanese rider was thought to have suffered a broken wrist in the accident, but on further investigation it was found that he had also fractured two fingers.  The fingers had wire inserted into them to stabilise the fractures, and giving them a chance to heal, putting Tamada out of action for two months.

Brno, saw the return of the Paul Bird Team rider, who put on an impressive performance seeing him finish in tenth place in race one after starting from eleventh on the grid.  During the race he had ridden has high as sixth, battling with Leon Haslam, Noriyuki Haga and Jakub Smrz for position but after suffering  tyre grip problems, he dropped back down to tenth as the chequered flag was waved.

In the second race, Tamada had a coming-together with the Ducati of  DFX Corse rider Lorenzo Lanzi, sustaining a broken middle finger, a repeat of the injury from Monza.

Tamada will now have a race against fitness as he signed-up as a wild-card rider alongside his team-mate Broc Parkes at the next round of the British Superbike Championship in two-weeks time at Brands Hatch.

Max Biaggi - Aprilia Racing 2009

This weekend the World Superbike Championship took place at the Brno circuit with race wins going to Max Biaggi and Ben Spies.

Race 1

Max Biaggi took the Aprilia across the line in the first race of the day to take his first victory since 2007 and the teams first win since 2001 when Régis Laconi won at Imola.

In second place was Carlos Checa on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda, followed in third by his team-mate Jonathan Rea.  Britain’s Shane Byrne on the Sterilgarda Ducati, finished in fourth ahead of Troy Corser on the BMW Motorrad Team Alpha Racing bike in fifth and Jakub Smrz on the Guandalini Racing machine in sixth.

Ben Spies on the Yamaha World Superbike was leading the race on lap 4 ahead of Michel Fabrizio on the Ducati Xerox Team bike and Biaggi.  Fabrizio made a move on Spies but collided with the American ending the race for both of them and passing the reins to Biaggi.

Ruben Xaus, the second BMW rider, had been running in seventh place on the first lap when he went down on the exit of the right-hand hairpin.  The bike and rider were thrown into the gravel trap with the Spaniard receiving a leg injury seeing him being taken to the on-site medical centre.  The injury proved worse than was first though and Xaus had actually suffered a break to the femur in his right leg. Xaus is hoping that the scheduled five-week summer break will give his injury enough time to heal and that he will be back on his BMW by the next round in September.

Leon Haslam on the Stiggy Honda, finished in an impressive seventh after qualifying in seventeenth on the grid while his team-mate John Hopkins, crashed out after losing the front-end of his bike.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 20 laps
2. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +3.631s
3. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000 +9.948s
4. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R +12.952s
5. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +14.599s
6. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +19.359s
7. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +19.680s
8. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198R +20.731s
9. Matthieu Lagrive FRA HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR +21.923s
10. Makoto Tamada JPN Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +27.807s
11. Fonsi Nieto ESP DFX Corse Ducati 1098R +35.263s
12. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R +36.535s
13. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +38.586s
14. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +40.061s
15. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR +40.280s

16. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +40.641s
17. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 10.529s
18. David Checa ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 YZF R1 +1min 14.874s
19. Roland Resch AUT TKR Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1min 42.979s
20. Milos Cihak CZE ProRace Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +1min 43.111s

Not Classified

21. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 18 laps completed
22. Alessandro Polita ITA Celani Suzuki GSX-R1000 14 laps completed
23. John Hopkins USA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 10 laps completed
24. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 8 laps completed
25. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 4 laps completed
26. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198R 4 laps completed
27. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 2 laps completed
28. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 0 laps completed

Race 2

In the second race it was Ben Spies that again led the riders to claim his eleventh win of the season, however, this time he had the challenging Max Biaggi to hold back.

Michel Fabrizio took third behind Biaggi, followed by Jonathan Rea in fourth and Carlos Checa in fifth.  An impressive sixth place went to Noriyuki Haga on the Ducati Xerox in sixth position.

Haga is still suffering from injuries received at an earlier round and confirmed that he is frustrated at not being able to ride to his full potential.  The Japanese riders shoulder and wrist are still causing him pain but he somehow managed to finish inside the top ten in both races this weekend, with a sixth and eighth position giving him a lead of 7 points in the championship ahead of Spies.

The Stiggy Honda duo were probably glad to see the back of this weekend with Haslam finishing in twelfth in the second race of the day while Hopkins ended with no points again after suffering technical difficulties on his machine.

Yukio Kagayama on the Suzuki Alstare bike, happened to be behind Hopkins when his troubles began.  As Hopkins slowed going into the right-hander, Kagayama had no where to go and hit the rear of the Americans bike causing him to crash out and  with only a fourteenth in race one, not a good weekend for the Suzuki team either.

Here are the results;

1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 20 laps
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +0.213s
3. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198R +0.657
4. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000 +8.311s
5. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +8.915s
6. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198R +21.175s
7. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 +21.384s
8. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R +21.599s
9. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +21.726s
10. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +25.180s
11. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +25.612s
12. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +25.622s
13. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +26.246s
14. Matthieu Lagrive FRA HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR +31.098s
15. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R +32.706s

16. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R +33.173s
17. Fonsi Nieto ESP DFX Corse Ducati 1098R +34.953s
18. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR +57.751s
19. David Checa ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 YZF R1 +1min 00.273s
20. Roland Resch AUT TKR Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1min 29.794s

Not Classified

21. Alessandro Polita ITA Celani Suzuki GSX-R1000 12 laps completed
22. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 7 laps completed
23. Milos Cihak CZE ProRace Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 7 laps completed
24. John Hopkins USA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 6 laps completed
25. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 6 laps completed
26. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 5 laps completed
27. Makoto Tamada JPN Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 3 laps completed

DNS Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR