2010 Miller WSBK Race 1 Result

2010 Miller WSBK Race 1 Result: Mechanical Disaster Wrecks Dominant Race

Submitted by David Emmett on Mon, 2010-05-31 20:35.

from motomatters.com

Results and summary of World Superbike Race 1 at Miller Motorsports Park:

Max Biaggi took an unexpected victory in the first World Superbike race of the day at Miller Motorsports Park, after being handed the win by Carlos Checa's defective Althea Ducati. Biaggi and Checa had made the break almost from the start, Biaggi's Alitalia Aprilia teammate Leon Camier putting up only token resistance in the first couple of laps. Checa used a smart pass to take over the lead from Biaggi, sliding underneath Biaggi on one of the fastest sections of the track, but for the first 12 laps of the race, Checa had his work cut out trying to shake off the Aprilia. Checa's Ducati was clearly superior through the corners, but the Aprilia's blistering speed down the front straight - Biaggi was over 16 km/h or 10 mph faster than Checa along the straight - meant Biaggi could catch Checa with relative ease.

Eventually, though, Biaggi was forced to concede defeat, letting Checa finally escape on lap 13, and quickly losing ground to the Spaniard. The race looked over, but fate was not on Checa's side. With three to go, Checa's bike suddenly halted, the engine dead and no more power, handing Biaggi a simple victory.

This was bad news for Leon Haslam. After a difficult start, the Alstare Suzuki rider had forced his way forward, dragging Noriyuki Haga along in his wake. The pairing had run across Leon Camier by lap 10, and Haslam started to push Camier hard. It would take the Suzuki rider 6 laps, but eventually, he nudged his GSX-R1000 ahead of Camier's Aprilia and took over 3rd, which would become 2nd after Checa dropped out, handing Biaggi an extra point in the championship. Haga, too, would get past Camier, getting his first podium since Valencia, back in early April.

Further down the field, some impressive rides saw unusual names well up the standings. Supersonic Ducati's Luca Scassa took advantage of a little local knowledge - the Italian having spent 2008 in the AMA - to finish 7th, passing James Toseland on the way. Johnny Rea ended in 14th, the heavily bandaged Ulsterman rejoining after crashing out in the early laps. Rea's triumph was unfortunate for Roger Lee Hayden, pushing the American back out of the points with just a couple of laps to go.

The entire field was lucky not to have suffered more crashes. Jakub Smrz blew the engine of his Pata S&G Ducati 1198R on the first lap of the race, the Ducati pouring out smoke around half the circuit. Fortunately, little or no oil actually ended up on the track, and the field went by unharmed, Smrz pulling off before his engine expired completely.

Results:

Pos	No.	Rider	Country	Bike	Diff
1	3	M. Biaggi	ITA	Aprilia RSV4 Factory
2	91	L. Haslam	GBR	Suzuki GSX-R1000	4.931
3	41	N. Haga	JPN	Ducati 1098R	6.432
4	2	L. Camier	GBR	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	8.576
5	11	T. Corser	AUS	BMW S1000 RR	11.150
6	67	S. Byrne	GBR	Ducati 1098R	11.243
7	99	L. Scassa	ITA	Ducati 1098R	12.432
8	50	S. Guintoli	FRA	Suzuki GSX-R1000	15.145
9	52	J. Toseland	GBR	Yamaha YZF R1	16.091
10	111	R. Xaus	ESP	BMW S1000 RR	16.502
11	35	C. Crutchlow	GBR	Yamaha YZF R1	18.719
12	76	M. Neukirchner	GER	Honda CBR1000RR	24.285
13	66	T. Sykes	GBR	Kawasaki ZX 10R	36.479
14	65	J. Rea	GBR	Honda CBR1000RR	39.700
15	77	C. Vermeulen	AUS	Kawasaki ZX 10R	41.253
16	95	R. Hayden	USA	Kawasaki ZX 10R	41.661
17	23	B. Parkes	AUS	Honda CBR1000RR	1'00.427
18	15	M. Baiocco	ITA	Kawasaki ZX 10R	4 Laps
RET	7	C. Checa	ESP	Ducati 1098R	3 Laps
RET	84	M. Fabrizio	ITA	Ducati 1098R	20 Laps
RET	96	J. Smrz	CZE	Ducati 1098R