Eugene Laverty – WSS – Assen 2010

The Sterilgarda Yamaha World Superbike team have confirmed the signing of the current World Supersport rider Eugene Laverty to ride alongside Marco Melandri from next season.

The 24-year-old, Northern Irish rider claimed the runners-up spot in last years World Supersport championship and is also a current contender for this years title following his seven race wins so far with two further races yet to complete.

Laverty said;

“It’s great to have a contract signed at this stage while still fighting for the title in the Supersport class. I desperately want to win this year before moving on.  When I rode the Yamaha YZF-R6 in World Supersport in 2008 I was having a tough time in 250s, it’s nice that Yamaha brought me to the fore and are now giving me the opportunity within superbike. Ben Spies winning the championship in 2009 and Cal Crutchlow now stepping up and winning races shows the bike and team are more than capable so the rest is up to me. I think with the team support and a good testing schedule we can start the 2011 championship ready to be competitive from the first race and be on the podium as early as possible. Having a teammate like Marco Melandri is great, he has a wealth of experience to learn from so I’m going to enjoy riding with him.”

Noriyuki Haga – Xerox Ducati 2010

This weekend saw the German round of the World Superbike championship at the Nurburgring with Noriyuki Haga winning race 1 and Jonathan Rea taking the flag in race 2.

Race 1

The initial race 1 was red flagged after just 1 lap after Leon Haslam crashed out at turn 4 sending his fellow riders in all directions trying to avoid him. Troy Corser was unable to avoid the Alstare Suzuki and crashed out leading to the race being red flagged.

As the race got underway for the second start both riders were back on the grid although Haslam struggled with an injured hand after it was hit by another rider during the crash.  Michel Fabrizio crashed out on lap 1 of the restart and retired from the race shortly after.

Max Biaggi had a great start, leading the pack as they headed for the first bend but was forced wide when  Carlos Checa attempted a move to get past and while the Althea Ducati rider managed to hold onto his second place Biaggi dropped back to eighth place.

Jonathan Rea was now leading ahead of Checa, Noriyuki Haga, Tom Sykes and a struggling Haslam in fourth while Corser’s disastrous race continued taking not only himself out of contention but also that of the Sylvain Guintoli at the Dunlop hairpin.

By lap 2, Cal Crutchlow had moved up to fourth place after passing both Haslam and Sykes following his tenth place grid start while his team-mate James Toseland low-sided off of his Sterilgarda Yamaha.

The Japanese rider made his move on Checa on lap three to slot into second position and began to chase down the leading man.  On lap 8 of the race, Checa began to put pressure on Haga to take back that second place which he was given after the Ducati Xerox rider crashed out.

Rea took the chequered flag for his fourth win of the season ahead of Checa in second, Crutchlow in third, Biaggi in fourth, Sykes in fifth, Haslam in sixth, Ruben Xaus in seventh, Guintoli in eighth, Shane Byrne in ninth and Luca Scassa in tenth.

Leon Camier took no part in either of the races after high-siding in the first qualifying session resulted in a broken right wrist.  The Aprilia rider is expected to have surgery on the injury sometime this week but it is unclear as yet if Camier will be back on his machine before the end of the season.

Here are the results;

1. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 20 lap
2. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +1.126s
3. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +10.006s
4. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +10.716s
5. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +17.391s
6. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +19.301s
7. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +19.613s
8. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +19.880s
9. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +21.176s
10. Luca Scassa ITA Supersonic Ducati 1198 +29.752s
11. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +30.156s
12. Ian Lowry GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +53.622s
13. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +58.820s
14. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 25.906s

Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 DNS

Race 2

It was Noriyuki Haga that claimed the win in the second race of the day for only the second time this season following his victory at the Valencia round of the championship.

Carlos Checa was the man at the front as the lights went out followed by Haga, Jonathan Rea, Max Biaggi and Tom Sykes.

By lap 4, Haga had found a hug gap to pass Checa, capitalising on the Spaniards mistake which had forced him to go wide.  Checa kept the pressure on the Japanese rider until he made an error on lap 9 of the race and crashed out of the race.

Haga crossed the line to take the win ahead of Rea while behind Haslam, despite his injuries from his earlier crash, moved into third position.  Crutchlow finished in fourth place ahead of Biaggi in fifth, Guintoli in sixth, Sykes in seventh, James Toseland in eighth, Ruben Xaus in ninth and Shane Byrne in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 20 Laps
2. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR
3. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +8.060s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +8.457s
5. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +9.392s
6. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +9.556s
7. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +16.819s
8. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +20.564s
9. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +21.040s
10. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +21.168s
11. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Aprilia RSV-4 +21.734s
12. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +22.746s
13. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +24.526s
14. Luca Scassa ITA Supersonic Ducati 1198 +28.218s
15. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +38.406s

Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 DNS

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

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

Ben Spies – Yamaha World Superbike 2009

MotoGP rider James Toseland and World Supersport rider Cal Crutchlow, will both be riding for the Yamaha World Superbike team in the 2010 Championship.

With Ben Spies confirming his seat in MotoGP on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team today, Toseland will be taking his place as he returns to the World Superbike series.

Toseland said;

“I’m looking forward to returning to World Superbikes.  I want to show I’m still the rider that can win world titles. Of course there is some disappointment at losing my opportunity in MotoGP as I believe the challenge was still achievable, but the R1 has proven to be beyond the strongest bikes in Superbike and I know many of the Yamaha World Superbike Team guys, so I’m going to pick up where I left off and give 100% to achieving good results with the team.

Within Superbike there were a few options available to me, however the way Yamaha have treated me since I joined them has been outstanding.  They gave me a great opportunity in MotoGP, but now I do wish Ben all the best in his campaign and my aim is to continue Yamaha’s success in World Superbike.”

Cal Crutchlow has had a remarkable rookie season with the Yamaha World Supersport team, claiming 9 pole position and 5 wins and is leading the championship by 2 points.

Crutchlow said;

“I’m happy to stay to be staying with Yamaha.  This will be my second year of my two year contract as agreed when I started in Supersport this year. Moving up to World Superbike will be a great challenge, I’m looking forward to it and am under no illusion as to how hard it is but I intend to do a good job.

I’m also looking forward to riding with another Briton.  Ben is obviously doing really well this year and I wish him luck for the last two WSB rounds and next year in MotoGP. It’s great to be working with Yamaha again in 2010.”

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