WSBK: Rea Leads British Domination Of Portimao Tests

( from SPeed.com, Written by: Media Release, 01/24/2010, Portimao (POR
(pics by Jim Race)

Jonathan Rea powered to the best time at the end of the three-day Infront Motor Sports official Superbike test session at Portimao in Portugal. The Northern Ireland youngster’s time of 1 minute 42.270 seconds was quicker even than Ben Spies’ 2009 pole mark for Yamaha.
The battle between Rea and his fellow-Brit Leon Haslam, who had been quickest on day 1, continued right until the very end, the Suzuki Alstare man ending up three-tenths behind.
British rider domination continued with Shane Byrne taking his private Althea Ducati 1098 to third place in the timesheets, and with Cal Crutchlow, one of Yamaha Sterilgarda’s two new 2010 signings, in fourth.
In the final stages, after most of the top riders had used their soft tires normally reserved for Superpole, Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) found himself in fifth place with a time of 1’43.137 ahead of former double world champion James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda), who returns to Superbike after a gap of two seasons.

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) was the only one of the leading runners not to go out on softer rubber and the Italian finished the test in seventh place with a time of 1’43.364, just ahead of 2009 runner-up Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), forced to slow with a technical problem during his quick lap.

Jonathan Rea: “This test was a lot of fun, we worked through everything methodically and we are in good shape to begin the season. We got most of the big things like suspension spec, linkage and swing-arm teed off so now we can go to Phillip Island and fine-tune our racing. To say we are ready to go racing at Phillip Island, we’re not sure about that, but the bike is ready and now I plan to put the next three or four weeks to good use with my trainer and hopefully I’ll be ready. We’re all excited about the prospect of racing for a world championship.”

Leon Haslam: “It’s been a really positive test, we managed to test the Suzuki for the first time in the rain and intermediate conditions. We had a few issues at the end of the day but ended up second and I was really happy with that. Every test I’ve been to so far, this is our fourth, we’ve not been outside the top 2. Hopefully we can continue progressing and I can take it to Phillip Island.”
Shane Byrne: “This is my third year riding the Ducati and I honestly thought I knew everything there was to know about these bikes, but this year Genesio (Bevilacqua, team owner) has put together a fantastic team and we have two very good bikes. I have a strong teammate, everything about the team is very good, the bike is so different from last year, and we made some really good progress in three days. I wish the second day had been dry also, so we still have some more work to do now at Valencia and Phillip Island before the first race.”

The 2010 winter tests will conclude at Phillip Island the week before the start of the season at the same circuit in Australia on February 28th. In the next few days however several teams, including BMW, Aprilia and Ducati, will be heading to Valencia for some extra testing.

Portimao Testing - Superbike Overall (Friday/Saturday/Sunday)
1 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'42.270
2 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'42.557
3 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'42.877
4 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'42.960
5 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'43.137
6 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'43.157
7 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 1'43.364
8 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'43.417
9 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 1'43.471
10 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'43.508
11 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'43.629
12 2 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 1'43.749
13 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'43.931
14 77 Vermeulen C. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'44.108
15 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'44.365
16 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'44.570
17 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR1000RR 1'44.751
18 31 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'45.348
19 95 Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'46.990
20 12 Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'47.293

Spies takes Donington pole

Spies takes Donington pole

Eurosport - Sat, 27 Jun 16:44:00 2009

Ben Spies took Superpole at Donington Park after setting a quickest lap just before rain prevented anyone from challenging him in the British leg of the World Superbike Championship.

His eighth pole position of the season, Spies's effort of one minute 29.846 seconds was timed to perfection as the riders struggled to react on the increasingly slippery surface.

It meant the first lap attempts would prove crucial, allowing Max Biaggi, Shane Byrne and Shinya Nakano to complete a surprise front row.

Provisional pole sitter Michel Fabrizio was forced to settle for fifth, ahead of team-mate Noriyuki Haga.

Carlos Checa and Jakub Smrz completed the second row, the latter having left it too late to set a representative time.

Crash.Net / Eurosport
Ben Spies: "It was a good session for us, but we almost got caught out. I was one of the last to leave the garage and as soon as I went out of pit-lane I could see the drops starting to come, so I had to really attack the warm-up lap to make sure I got around and get relaxed in case it started raining. The first sector was brilliant, but then the rain started to come and I had to be careful not to touch the paint. It was good to get pole, this circuit has a short start for turn one so it's good positioning. The bike's working well on race tyres so we need a good start tomorrow."

Max Biaggi: "In the last session I was really lucky because no one expected any drops and then it really started to rain. I started soon because I had nothing more to learn after what I had done in free practice and I thought I must put my head down and go as fast as I can. Second place is good for us, for tomorrow I'm quite OK, maybe not exactly the way I wanted to be but OK. It's great to be here, I like this track, my bike could be a little bit better but I think I can go well tomorrow."

Shane Byrne: "I think we got a little bit lucky because the bad weather came in quickly. Fortunately we got through the first Superpole session without using qualifying tyres, but I was kind of hopeful of a good result anyway. We've been doing a lot of work on both bikes this weekend and we ended up with them going in different directions, but I'm happy with the direction that we've been going since America and Misano. I'm delighted with getting the first front row of the season for myself and the team."

Shinya Nakano: "Like Max said we had some luck today, but so far this is my best qualifying performance in Superbike. On Friday we were struggling but things went much better today and I am looking forward to racing here at the Donington Park track." moto-live.com

Full Superpole qualifying times for the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park, Great Britain.

1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 1min 29.846s

2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1min 30.080s

3. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 1min 30.535s

4. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1min 30.671s

5. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1098R 1min 30.734s

6. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1098R 1min 31.023s

7. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 31.342s

8. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1min 34.797s

9. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.159s

10. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 1min 30.229s

11. John Hopkins USA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.272s

12. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.387s

13. Gregorio Lavilla ESP Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1min 30.612s

14. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF-R1 1min 0.816s

15. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 30.916s

16. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 31.120s

17. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF-R1 1min 31.176s

18. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 31.215s

19. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 1min 31.260s

20. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 31.217s

Positions 21 to 31 decided in Q2

21. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 31.874s

22. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R 1min 31.887s

23. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 32.183s

24. Matthieu Lagrive FRA HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR 1min

32.243s

25. Jamie Hacking USA Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 1min 32.245s

26. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 32.343s

27. Alessandro Polita ITA Celani Suzuki GSX-R1000 1min 32.584s

28. Blake Young USA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 32.735s

29. David Checa ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 1min 32.811s

30. Roland Resch AUT TKR Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 33.384s

31. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR 1min 33.408s

Spies takes Donington pole

Spies takes Donington pole

Eurosport - Sat, 27 Jun 16:44:00 2009

Ben Spies took Superpole at Donington Park after setting a quickest lap just before rain prevented anyone from challenging him in the British leg of the World Superbike Championship.

His eighth pole position of the season, Spies's effort of one minute 29.846 seconds was timed to perfection as the riders struggled to react on the increasingly slippery surface.

It meant the first lap attempts would prove crucial, allowing Max Biaggi, Shane Byrne and Shinya Nakano to complete a surprise front row.

Provisional pole sitter Michel Fabrizio was forced to settle for fifth, ahead of team-mate Noriyuki Haga.

Carlos Checa and Jakub Smrz completed the second row, the latter having left it too late to set a representative time.

Crash.Net / Eurosport

Full Superpole qualifying times for the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park, Great Britain.

1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 1min 29.846s

2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1min 30.080s

3. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 1min 30.535s

4. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1min 30.671s

5. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1098R 1min 30.734s

6. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1098R 1min 31.023s

7. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 31.342s

8. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1min 34.797s

9. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.159s

10. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 1min 30.229s

11. John Hopkins USA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.272s

12. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.387s

13. Gregorio Lavilla ESP Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1min 30.612s

14. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF-R1 1min 0.816s

15. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 30.916s

16. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 31.120s

17. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF-R1 1min 31.176s

18. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 31.215s

19. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 1min 31.260s

20. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 31.217s

Positions 21 to 31 decided in Q2

21. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 31.874s

22. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R 1min 31.887s

23. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 32.183s

24. Matthieu Lagrive FRA HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR 1min

32.243s

25. Jamie Hacking USA Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 1min 32.245s

26. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 32.343s

27. Alessandro Polita ITA Celani Suzuki GSX-R1000 1min 32.584s

28. Blake Young USA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 32.735s

29. David Checa ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 1min 32.811s

30. Roland Resch AUT TKR Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 33.384s

31. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR 1min 33.408s

WSBK arrives in Donington

British WSBK invasion returns home for Donington round

Thursday, 25 June 2009 16:16worldsbk.com

The top World Superbike riders got together for a meet and greet with the media this morning at the Donington Park Grand Prix Collection museum in the build-up towards round 9 of the championship. Following the spectacular racing at Misano World Circuit just a few days ago, this weekend will surely see more of the same as the season moves into its second half. Anglo-American rivalry will be one of the key aspects of the weekend as this year's top influx of British riders return to home ground, while the Ducati-Yamaha battle at the top becomes even more intense.

Britain's Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who became the fourth winner this year at Misano, started the ball rolling: "It was nice for me and the whole team to win at Misano because they've been working so hard since the start of the year. For me to be the guy who gets the team's first win of the year is really surreal because Carlos and Kiyo are such accomplished riders and it's really set me up with some momentum for my home race here".

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), who leads the table on 292 points, has been coming to Donington since 1998, when he picked up a double win: "I remember coming here many years ago and winning both races against Corser and Fogarty, which was a great satisfaction for me. I actually like this track and always find strange conditions here, but I hope this weekend it will be sunshine and I have to try and win again. With Ducati I try to push hard and win the title this year".

For Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike), the Donington circuit is a familiar track on this year's calendar, as he did the MotoGP race last year: "We were here last year, so I know this one! This weekend's important for us, it's good with all the British guys in town. Right now for me, we need a good result, it could backfire but we're going to give it everything, hopefully we'll get some good weather and some good racing. My team-mate Tom knows the circuit well, so I'm going to be latching on to him in the first session!".

Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) finally scored his first podium of the year last week with a second place in race 1, and could even have come away with a sensational win: "It wasn't for lack of trying!" said Shakey. "It was a good race and nice to have a bit of success. Since the winter test, things have been very difficult but it was a good time to get back to form with Donington coming up this weekend and I'm really looking forward to it".

Derby-born Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) had an excellent start to the season with a brace of podiums, but has found it difficult to keep the momentum flowing in recent races: "The last four rounds have been pretty tough because the last four circuits I've not been to but Phillip Island and Assen, which I do know, have produced good results so I'm going to try and get back on the podium this weekend at my home round. The effort that the team is putting in is second to none, it's fantastic, but it gets a bit frustrating sometimes because we know we can finish on the podium at every race".

About Donington Park

The Donington Park circuit is situated near Castle Donington and is one of Britain's most famous and most popular venues. The original track was opened in 1931 and initially used for motorcycle races, but was then closed in 1939 due to World War 2. In the early 1970s the circuit was bought by Tom Wheatcroft, who funded the rebuilding of the circuit, which was re-opened in 1977. The Melbourne Loop was built in 1985 to increase the lap distance to 2.5 miles (4.02 km) and allow the track to host Grand Prix motorcycle races. In recent times Donington has held World Superbike, MotoGP, British Touring Car Championship and British Superbikes, as well as the 1993 F1 European Grand Prix.

Lap records: Race - Troy Bayliss (Ducati) 1'31.575 (2007); Best lap - Troy Bayliss (Ducati) 1'30.370 (2007).

The UK Round of the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship takes place from Friday 26th through Sunday 28th June. The action starts with free practice and qualifying the first two days, followed by WSBK Superpole on Saturday at 15.00. The two 23-lap (92.529 km) Superbike races are scheduled to run on Sunday at 12.00 and 15.30, with the 22-lap (88.506 km) Supersport race at 13.25 local time.

Gang of Four winners meet up at Donington

Wednesday, 24 June 2009 18:13worldsbk.com

The echoes of a splendid weekend of racing at Misano World Circuit are still ringing loud and clear as the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship crosses the English Channel for its next appointment, round 9 at Donington Park. The British circuit, situated directly under the East Midlands Airport landing strip, measures 4.023 km, has 15 curves and is a difficult track to master, a severe test for the resistance and concentration of riders, especially if it should rain.

The championship heads into its second half of the season with Noriyuki Haga, Ben Spies and Michel Fabrizio the big favourites, but also with Jonathan Rea, who took a fantastic win in race 2 at Misano, now part of the gang of four winners. Haga is the current rider who has the most wins at Donington, three, and he is followed by Troy Corser (2) and Kiyonari on 1. The most successful rider is Carl Fogarty with six wins to his name, followed by Scott Russell with 5. On the manufacturer front, the lion's share goes to Ducati with 16 in 34 races, then Yamaha and Honda equal on 6, Kawasaki on 5 and Suzuki on 1.

TRADING WINNING PLACES - Even though six rounds remain (and 300 points are up for grabs), the fight for the title appears to be a three-way affair between the Ducati Xerox duo of Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio, and Yamaha World Superbike's Ben Spies. Nitro-Nori has led the standings since the start of the season, but has not had a positive run recently and has given the impression of racing somewhat in defense. He still has a 48 point lead over Spies, who picked up his eighth win at Misano, but had it not been for the various technical problems that have afflicted him, the Texan would be right there with his rival. At least this time around Spies is not faced with a totally unfamiliar track, having raced here last year for Suzuki in MotoGP as stand-in for the injured Loris Capirossi, finishing 14th. As for Fabrizio, after unleashing all of his talent in race 2 at Monza, the Italian has just kept on going and has accumulated a constant sequence of podiums without however stepping onto the top rung. Fabrizio is in excellent form, has nothing to lose and will surely be a contender this weekend.

HOME RUN FOR HOME RIDERS - Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) might not be a part of the title battle as he is 125 points behind, but he may yet have a say in the matter. Race 2 at Misano brought out the Northern Ireland youngster's talent, and this, together with the improved competitiveness of the Hondas following a switch to Ohlins suspensions, means that he will be a potential winner this weekend at the only British round in this year's championship. Eyes out as well for Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike), who finished runner-up to Bayliss last year in race 1, Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda), Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati), galvanized by his Misano podium, and also Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda) who, despite clearly not being British, twice won the BSB championship as well as the second race here last year. It will also be interesting to see how the young wild-card, and current BSB points leader, Leon Camier fares on the Airwaves Yamaha R1 machine against the WSB regulars at his home track.

MID-SEASON SLUMP - After a positive (Aprilia) and fairly good (BMW) start to the season, the two rookie WSB manufacturers now appear to be in a mid-season slump against their racing cousins, Ducati, Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki. At Misano the Aprilia Racing duo of Max Biaggi and Shinya Nakano only succeeded in bringing home a handful of points, without ever getting a look-in. BMW fared even worse, with just two points scored for 14th by Ruben Xaus, and none by a still sore Troy Corser. Immediately after the Donington round both the Italian and German squads have scheduled testing sessions to try out new updates and evolution components. For this weekend Aprilia probably have the higher ambitions, as Biaggi has a particular feeling with Donington; the Italian has finished his four SBK races here with a second, two thirds and a sixth place.

YOUNG AMERICAN - The American contingent in the championship goes up by one at Donington after the Alstare Suzuki team, while waiting for the return of Max Neukirchner, opted to replace Fonsi Nieto with the young American Blake Young. The 21 year-old from Wisconsin is thought to be one of the best young talents around and comes with the ‘backing' of racing legend and former champion, Kevin Schwantz. Young joins his fellow Americans Ben Spies, Jamie Hacking and John Hopkins in the series.

The X-Rea Factor

Wednesday, 24 June 2009 15:53 worldsbk.com

The list of world Superbike race winners grew to 62 in total last weekend, when Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) found the X- factor he and his team had been missing so far as he posted his first career victory. Honda, and the ‘conventional' four-cylinder machines in general, also took a first race win of the 2009 season.

It was a reward for Rea for his perseverance and sheer determination to succeed, and for his team's endless hard work to find ‘the combination' to allow their true potential to be translated into their first win since Ryuichi Kiyonari's at Donington last year.

Rea is of course highly positive about his prospects at Donington this coming Sunday, not just because it is his home race. "You could say I know which way the circuit goes..." joked Rea at the post race press conference in Misano. "It is really nice there and we'll come back strong at Donington. We have only had four or five days with our new suspension so with another seven in between we will get even better."

The cool-headedness which typified his approach to the race-long fight with Fabrizio at Misano is a characteristic that singles Rea out as a real prospect for the immediate and long-term future. His businesslike comments only 30-minutes or so after such a landmark win for him and his team just add to the impression that Rea is really going places. "I don't want to get carried away because I want to keep winning," said Rea. "When I crossed the line for the last time I didn't know what to think, but my first thought was that ‘I hope the boys in my team really enjoy this.' So I wanted them to have a few beers and savour the moment because next week we have another tough job ahead."

Still only 22 years old, Rea's racing education on a Superbike has been long in the making and a story of ever-increasing achievement. So although he may be a rookie in WSB, he is no stranger to Honda Fireblades.

He raced in Red Bull Honda colours in BSB as far back as 2005, finishing 16th that year, and even securing a pole position. One season later he was fourth overall, with four podiums and two poles. One year after that, in the official HM Plant Honda team, he was runner-up behind Kiyonari, taking five wins along the way. As an official Honda rider Rea has also had the chance to impress the Honda bosses in Japan, by running strongly in testing and racing at the Suzuka 8-Hour, so it looks like Honda is the way forward for the man from Northern Ireland.

His Supersport exploits in 2008 are well documented to regular WSS followers - three wins, six podiums in all and a runner-up spot only to his more experienced team-mate, Andrew Pitt.

With one WSB win down, Rea must be a favourite at a circuit he knows better than any other on the WSB trail.

World Superbike Misano Results

Chris McNeil from:motorcycle-usa.com

Sunday, June 21, 2009

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Race 1

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) scored his eighth win of the season in the first World Superbike race at the Misano World Circuit in San Marino, Italy. Drama unfolded as the race was held in flag-to-flag conditions, all riders starting with their full wet tires and switching mid-way to finish in the dry. Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) had a dominate lead over Ruben Xaus, Michel Fabrizio and Spies mid-way through the 24-lap race. Spies and Fabrizio both chose to change to their dry bikes on the 13 lap, which proved the turning point of the race. Equipped with his slick tires the Texan slipped back on the track behind Fabrizio in eighth. By lap 17 he had taken the lead from Xaus and set the pace for the rest of the race, finishing almost eight seconds ahead of runner-up Byrne.

Ben Spies' focus was on getting ahead of Michel Fabrizio, who has been running at a similar pace throughout the weekend and last few rounds of World Superbike.

"I stayed as close as I could to Fabrizio, I couldn’t run Byrne’s pace but wanted to stay with Michel as he was the one who mattered to me in the championship, " explained the rider known as the Texas Terror. "I picked the right moment to come in and get out on dry tires and switch bikes and put in good pace and we managed to win the race."

It took a couple laps for Fabrizio to find feeling with his Ducati 1198, but he was able to hold-off the rapidly charging poleman Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Racing Ducati) in a very close battle for the last podium position. Despite being 20 seconds behind Smrz, Haga managed to garner 11 points as he passed fellow Japanese rider Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) to take fifth.

Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate) was the first Honda to the checkered-flag despite starting from the back of the grid and also picking up a ride-through penalty. Tom Sykes made up for an average qualifying position to take eight more points for Factory Yamaha, adding to Spies' first-place trophy of 25. Shinya Nakano was the top Aprilia rider in ninth, with Biaggi also collecting three points in 13th. World Superbike rookie Matt Lagrive, who was chosen by the Honda Althea team to permanently replace struggling English racer Tommy Hill in Round 5, scored his first points of the season in tenth.

Ruben Xaus led the race with seven laps to go, but received a 'ride-through' penalty for exceeding the pit lane speed after coming in to switch bikes. Xaus would finish in 14th and take the only points for the BMW team in Round 8, with his teammate Troy Corser sitting out Race 1 after an electronic problem caused him to high-side during the warm-up lap. Fortunately the Australian ride did not further injure his shoulder in the crash. The last point went to Alex Polita, who replaces Celani Suzuki's injured Karl Muggeridge during this round and the next at Donington.

The 2008 British Superbike champion Shane Byrne took his first podium of the 2009 World Superbike season in Race 1.
Ben Spies: "It was a hard one, we knew from the start it was going to get dry and in that first half hats off to Shakey, he rode great. I had the feeling in the rain that I wasn't quite happy but I tried as hard as I could to stay close to Michel. My box showed me that some riders were starting to come in for a change so I said that it was time to get in now. It was a hectic race, pretty eventful, not a great race but I was happy to pull this one off."

Shane Byrne: "That was a fantastic race. It's a shame it didn't stay wet for a little bit longer because I had a really big lead at one point. I wasn't sure what to do with the tyre situation and all the time the lead was going up, and I didn't know whether to stay out or not. I switched bikes with about seven laps to go and the first two laps were really difficult. Ben had done a couple more dry laps than I had, he passed me and there was no way I was going to get him. It was a fantastic result for the team at their home circuit, they've all worked really hard."

Michel Fabrizio: "That's not a bad result, it was a great battle with Jakub for the final podium slot. When I saw that on the big screen that he was getting closer and closer, I knew that I had to invent something special on the last lap. I was unable to find the best possible feeling immediately with the dry tyres and I slipped back a bit but I've had a lot of bad luck in recent years at Misano so I'm very happy to get onto the podium." (worldsbk.com)

Misano World Superbike - Race 1 Results
1. Ben Spies (Yamaha YZF-R1) 45'02.773
2. Shane Byrne (Ducati 1098R) +7.931
3. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati 1098R) +11.836
4. Jakub Smrz (Ducati 1098R) +11.886
5. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati 1098R) +31.670
6. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9) +33.241
7. Jonathan Rea (Honda CBR1000RR) +35.772
8. Tom Sykes (Yamaha YZF-R1) +41.931
9. Shinya Nakano (Aprilia RSV4) +51.507
10. Matthieu Lagrive (Honda CBR1000RR) +59.921
11. Carlos Checa (Honda CBR1000RR) +1'04.285
12. Leon Haslam (Honda CBR1000RR) +1'04.313
13. Max Biaggi (Aprilia RSV4) +1'19.822
14. Ruben Xaus (BMW S1000RR) +1'22.412
15. Alex Polita (Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9) +1'31.635
16. Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki ZX 10R) +1'39.830
17. Broc Parkes (Kawasaki ZX 10R) +1'42.964
18. Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9) +1'43.303
19. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati 1098R)
20. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Honda CBR1000RR)
21. David Checa (Yamaha YZF R1)
22. Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati 1098R)
23. David Salom (Kawasaki ZX 10R)
NC. Roland Resch (Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9)
RET. Luca Scassa (Kawasaki ZX 10R)
RET. Matteo Baiocco (Kawasaki ZX 10R)
RET. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda CBR1000RR)
RET. Troy Corser (BMW S1000RR)
NP. John Hopkins (Honda CBR1000RR)

Race 2
(motorcycle-usa.com)
Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea took his maiden World Superbike victory after regaining the lead from Ducati's Michel Fabrizio on the final lap of Race 2, crossing the finish-line just 0.06 of a second ahead of the Italian. Championship leader Noriyuki Haga led the race in the opening laps, but was passed by Rea and then forced to battle with his teammate for second. Fabrizio passed Haga and then Rea to take the lead on the 16th lap, where he remained until Rea's ultimate race winning maneuver. Haga easily took the final spot on the podium as he finished over three seconds ahead of the next group of riders. Fabrizio remains third in the Championship, but narrows Haga's lead by nine points.

Privateer Ducati rider Jakub Smrz converted his pole position into another fourth-place finish when he passed Carlos Checa on the final lap as the tires of the Spaniard's Honda CBR1000RR began to peel off. Finishing just behind Checa in sixth was Shane Byrne, pairing another good run with his Race 1 podium. Tom Sykes was the first of the Yamaha World Superbike riders across the line as he battled with Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) to win eighth. Sykes' teammate Spies dropped from second to 17th at the start following a technical issue with his clutch. The 24-year-old sorted the problem and fought his way through the field to take ninth. Although the mechanical failure undoubtedly caused Spies to miss-out on potential points, the American still managed to reduce the points lead of Haga from 53 to 48 points over the weekend.

Max Biaggi broke into the top-ten on his Aprilia RSV4, while his teammate Shinya Nakano also scored three more points for the rookie Aprilia World Superbike team. Yukio Kagayama and Fonsi Nieto each netted points for Suzuki, but the Kawasaki and BMW riders failed to finish in the top 15.

Jonathan Rea takes his first win of the season after scoring podiums in each of the last rounds.
Jonathan Rea: "To win my first race in Italy here is really special for me before my home round next weekend at Donington. As everybody's aware we switched suspensions, and tried them for the first time on Monday at Magny-Cours and the team all did a marvelous job to get me to win the race here so this is really special for them as well. I got settled into my own rhythm and Michel came past but he couldn't outbrake me and that spared my bike from doing all the running. I could pass where I wanted to pass and I saved it to the last lap. I'm really over the moon with the win!"

Michel Fabrizio: "In race 2 I didn't have a perfect feeling with the front and Rea's Honda accelerated better out of the corners than me. It's a pity I didn't win today but two podiums are my best result on this track and knowing that I did my best makes me happy. I'm just a few points behind Spies in the table and maybe I can start thinking about the title now although I realize that to be a serious candidate I have to keep on getting good results and even win a few races".

Noriyuki Haga: "Race 2 was much better than the first one: I got a good start but then Johnny and Michel passed me and it was hard to keep their pace, maybe because they're much younger than me! Seriously though we have taken home some good points and that's important because Misano is not one of my favourite tracks. Now I'm looking forward to racing at Donington where in recent years I've always had good results."(worldsbk.com)

Misano World Superbike - Race 2 Results
1. Jonathan Rea (Honda CBR1000RR) 39'11.204
2. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati 1098R) +0.063
3. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati 1098R) +0.457
4. Jakub Smrz (Ducati 1098R) +3.635
5. Carlos Checa (Honda CBR1000RR) +4.460
6. Shane Byrne (Ducati 1098R) +4.538
7. Tom Sykes (Yamaha YZF-R1) +12.679
8. Leon Haslam (Honda CBR1000RR) +12.763
9. Ben Spies (Yamaha YZF-R1) +13.237
10. Max Biaggi (Aprilia RSV4) +14.412
11. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9) +20.073
12. Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9) +20.239
13. Shinya Nakano (Aprilia RSV4) +22.351
14. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda CBR1000RR) +24.547
15. Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati 1098R) +24.696
16. Ruben Xaus (BMW S1000RR) +25.615
17. Broc Parkes (Kawasaki ZX 10R) +31.887
18. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati 1098R) +34.751
19. Troy Corser (BMW S1000RR) +38.061
20. Luca Scassa (Kawasaki ZX 10R) +47.717
21. Matthieu Lagrive (Honda CBR1000RR) +48.973
22. Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki ZX 10R) +51.027
23. Alex Polita (Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9) +52.526
24. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Honda CBR1000RR) +57.589
25. Roland Resch (Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9) +1'36.359
RET. David Salom (Kawasaki ZX 10R)
RET. David Checa (Yamaha YZF R1)
RET. Matteo Baiocco (Kawasaki ZX 10R)

WSBK- arrives at Misano

The Misano World Circuit
(until 2006 called Circuito Internazionale Santamonica) is an Italian racetrack located next to the town of Misano Adriatico (Province of Rimini) in the frazione of Santamonica. Originally designed in 1969 as a length of 3.488 kilometres (2.17 mi), it hosted its first event in 1972. In 1993, the track length was increased to 4.064 kilometres (2.53 mi).(wiki)

Location Misano Adriatico, Province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Time zone CET, UTC+1
Coordinates [show location on an interactive map] 43°57′41″N 12°41′0″E / 43.96139°N 12.68333°E / 43.96139; 12.68333Coordinates: [show location on an interactive map] 43°57′41″N 12°41′0″E / 43.96139°N 12.68333°E / 43.96139; 12.68333
Major Events MotoGP; SBK; Formula Renault; FIA Sportscars
Circuit Length 4.064 km (2.525 mi)
Turns 11
Lap Record 1:33.918 (Casey Stoner, Ducati, 2007)




WSBK: Misano Gears Up For Superbike Scorcher

Written by: SPEED Staff SPEEDtv.com

06/16/2009 - 02:36 PM

Misano Adriatico (ITA)

(Photo: Ducati Corse)

After the overseas doubleheader in South Africa and USA, the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship returns to European soil for the start of the second half of the 2009 season. Round 8 of 14 will be held this weekend at the Misano World Circuit on Italy's sun-kissed Adriatic Riviera, with the event holding the denomination of San Marino Round. The circuit in the Romagna region, a stone's throw away from world-famous seaside resorts Rimini and Riccione, measures 4.226 km and has been the venue for 17 editions of the championship. It underwent a major restyling in 2007 with changes to the layout and sense of direction, which is now clockwise.

Misano is a circuit where Ducati has always dominated. The Italian manufacturer has taken its twin-cylinder machines onto the podium 26 times in 34 races, leaving the other manufacturers with the crumbs: Honda 3 wins, Aprilia 2, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki 1.

As for riders, the most successful at Misano is three-times world champion Troy Bayliss with 6 wins, while Giancarlo Falappa, Regis Laconi and Ruben Xaus all have three apiece. Out of all the riders who have won at Misano, only two will be on the track this coming weekend, the BMW pairing of Troy Corser (2 wins) and Xaus, who was the last to take a victory, in race 2 twelve months ago. Both Régis Laconi (Ducati DFX) and Max Neukirchner (Suzuki), who have also won at Misano, the German in race 1 last year, are currently out of action with injuries.

HAGA'S MISANO JINX

The splendid double win by Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) at Miller has reopened the title battle, which after South Africa appeared to be heading the way of Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox). The Japanese rider, bruised and battered in the Utah Round, still has a healthy lead over his rivals (53 points over the American and 64 over teammate Michel Fabrizio), but is arriving at a circuit that is his ‘pet hate' seeing as he has never won there. In 18 appearances, Haga has only scored three podiums at Misano, his best being in 2007 when he finished runner-up in race 2 behind Bayliss, while in the first he ended up on the ground after a contact with Max Biaggi, while they were fighting for second place.


TWO'S COMPANY

Both Spies and Fabrizio are aiming to take away further points from the championship leader and they arrive at Misano as the riders most in form. The Texan doesn't know the circuit but so far has always demonstrated that he has no problems in this area, and he is backed up by an ultra-competitive Yamaha YZF-R1. As for Fabrizio, the rider from Rome has made a quantum leap in quality recently, proving that he can fight for the win at every circuit, and he will be aiming high this time around.
"It's great to be back in Italy again," said Ben Spies. "It was awesome to be home for the Miller race last month, and a dream come true to win in front of my home crowd. Everything felt right at the weekend, I couldn't have been happier. I'm excited about getting on the track at Misano, it's another new circuit to learn which is cool. The Italian fans are amazing which will also make this a special race for us as a team. We need to do well here to keep the championship challenge alive, and I'm confident we can."

"I'm very happy to put the US behind me," said Tom Sykes. "There's no denying we had a couple of issues but I think we're past it. We know everything works well on the bike and we have the pace to run at the front. I'm very much looking forward to Misano now, we've got a couple of things we want to try on the bike so let's hope it works and the track suits my riding style. I'm going in to the weekend feeling confident, I know the team can do a good job so if we can crack it we can get up there. I think this weekend will be the turning of the corner and setting me up for Donington and the rest of the season." (yamaha-racing.com)


MISANO OUTSIDERS

At Misano, Superbike can often produce some major upsets and the heat will surely have a major effect on men and machines. The outsiders this weekend include Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing), who has been putting together a string of top 5 results recently. The RSV4 machine is getting closer to the top and the Italian will surely be a difficult opponent for everyone. The Noale manufacturer should bring some new material to Misano and Biaggi will be hoping to upset the applecart in front of his home fans.

ON THE WAY UP

The Honda riders are now emerging as front-runners as well after a difficult start to the season. Jonathan Rea, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Carlos Checa (Ten Kate) and Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing) have all been on the podium at least once and the Miller race showed that the CBR1000RRs are not that far away from the level of Ducati and Yamaha. All eyes will in particular be on Rea, who is fast becoming a true contender. Progress is also being recorded by Kawasaki, who will enter American Jamie Hacking once again in place of the still convalescent Makoto Tamada as teammate to Broc Parkes.

SUZUKI AND BMW

The Suzuki Alstare team will again be present at Misano without the injured Max Neukirchner, who is expected to be back for Brno at the end of July. The team's progress will continue to revolve around Yukio Kagayama, who is not exactly 100% fit after crashing in the USA, and Fonsi Nieto who is struggling to find the best possible feeling with the GSX-R 1000. Attention will also be focused on the BMW Motorrad team, which had a difficult time overseas, but the German squad has had an opportunity to analyze everything back in the factory workshop and both Corser and Xaus will be looking for improvements this weekend.

WSBK: All change at Honda Althea

As Lagrive comes in for Hill

It's all change for the Althea Honda team from the Misano round onwards as Matthieu Lagrive replaces Tommy Hill in Superbike while Italian Superbike championship leader Flavio Gentile comes in for Lagrive in Supersport.

Unfortunately, the first part of the season wasn't very successful for either Hill and the team so together with Tommy the team decided to terminate its relationship. To replace the English rider the Team management chose Matthieu Lagrive not only because he knows the team and technical staff very well, but also because the French rider has a great experience with high-¬powered bikes as he is a five time Endurance World Champion.

With Matthieu the team really hopes to be able to gather the fruits of their hard work and they hope that Lagrive will demonstrate that Honda Althea team can obtain in Superbike the same good results as he did in Supersport.

"This will be my first race with Honda Althea Superbike team. I never raced in Superbike before and so I will have to familiarize with my new CBR 1000 RR starting from Friday's free practices. I have already raced with an Honda CBR 1000 RR, but in Endurance races and so I know this will be a completely different bike”, said Lagrive. “I know the team's technical staff and I'm sure they'll help me adapt quickly to the new bike. I'm happy because I'm starting a new and exciting experience in Superbike with a very clever and skilled team. Hopefully we'll reach some very good results".

In Supersport, the team have decided to give Flavio Gentile an opportunity to race at Misano to show his talent and skills also in the Supersport World Championship. Flavio is currently participating with the Honda Althea Team in the Italian Superbike Championship and is leading the standings.

"I'm really happy to be here and I know my team will help me to quickly adapt to the new bike. I'm lucky because I can start this new interesting experience from Misano, which is actually my favourite circuit” he said. “I have always obtained good results here and I think I will be able to challenge hard this time as well. I want to enjoy myself and take this opportunity to do my best for Honda Althea team and for my sponsors".(moto-live.com)

Freestyle show at Misano World Circuit with Chris Pfeiffer

Monday, 15 June 2009 13:04

The performance skills and style of Chris Pfeiffer will be coming to Misano during the World Superbike weekend. On Sunday the most famous streetbiker freestyler in the world will perform on the track, during the pit-walk, from 11.10 to 11.25. Pfeiffer will also repeat his show in the SBK Motorzone, the commercial area of SBK, twice during the day. The first one will be at 10.00, the second at 13.00. During Chris Pfeiffer's show there will be an event-car too, with music and DJ. It will be 20 minutes long and will show how the world of motor sport can join up with music and art to make an electrifying performance.

Chris is first and foremost a big fan of motorbikes and all things engines and has been since he was a child. His streetbiker freestyler background is a very long one and he has demonstrated his skills in more than one hundred international events. Pfeiffer has also received many awards, including Stunt Riding World Champion, "Stuntwars" Champion in the legendary freestyle competition in Florida, and three times European Stunt Riding Champion. (worldsbk.com)

WSBK : Haga dominates at Valencia

from: http://www.moto-live.com

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) dominated both races in round 3 of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia.

In front of 65,000 spectators the Japanese rider notched up wins number 35 and 36 in his ten-year long World Superbike career to lead the table with 135 points.

Team-mate Michel Fabrizio also had a positive weekend, the young Italian taking second and third while the remaining podium places went to Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) in race 1 and rookie Texan Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) in the second encounter.

Race 1

Haga led virtually from lights to flag after moving past early leader Neukirchner at the start of lap 3, the championship leader adding a chunk of points to his advantage over Spies, who then crashed out while fighting with the German. Fabrizio took the second slot to give the factory Ducati team a 1-2 finish. Front-row man Regis Laconi (Ducati DFX) finished just one place away from the podium, while Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing) was the first Honda rider to the flag ahead of Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare).

Yamaha's race was saved with the positive form of Tom Sykes in seventh ahead of Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing), who recovered well from a lowly grid position. Broc Parkes finished an encouraging tenth for Kawasaki, with Superbike rookie John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda) one place behind. Riders who crashed out included Troy Corser (BMW), who was running fourth in the early laps, and Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who remounted but retired.

Noriyuki Haga: “Not so bad! Anyway I had a good feeling this weekend, bike and the team have both been working well. At the start it was good but I had already decided I would go into the lead in the early laps. Finally I kept my own race. Of course I want to win both races today but it's not so easy. I now have a very good feeling with this bike, it is so easy to ride, that's why I was able to push, also I did very consistent laps with this tyre.”

Michel Fabrizio: “For me Valencia is very difficult but this result is fantastic. I grew a beard to bring me good luck, and it worked so maybe I will keep it now! It's a great result for the team, we have worked very well from Friday after the first disappointing couple of races.”

Max Neukirchner: “Even for us it was really hard. We were always in the top 10 this weekend but didn't find perfect set-up. But during the practices we changed some things and in the end we found a very good way and I am so happy to finish on the podium. I was in second place for so long, but even with this result I'm so glad for my team and our new sponsor.”

Race 2

Haga dominated the second race in a similar fashion, this time taking the lead on lap 5. He then pulled out to win by over five seconds, taking a new lap record in 1 minute 34.618 seconds in the process. Spies managed to prevent a second Ducati 1-2 of the day with the runner-up slot but never managed to challenge Haga for the win. Third went to Fabrizio, who again had to hold off Laconi throughout the 23 laps for the final podium slot.

Haslam scored another fifth place, again the best Honda rider to the flag, ahead of Checa and Neukirchner, who faded away with tyre problems after starting off well. Biaggi came home in eighth place again, after prevailing in a five-way battle with Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda), Sykes, Shane Byrne (Ducati Sterilgarda) and Hopkins. The final point went to Corser, while Parkes failed to get into the top 15.

Noriyuki Haga: “We did a great job this weekend. I think one of the reasons is that after Qatar I did some ‘age training! But anyway today 50 points is a great advantage over Ben and I'm very happy with this double win.”

Ben Spies: “I was trying as hard as we could in the first couple of laps, but had a couple of problems and didn't quite get rolling. By the time we got into second, I would have needed to be right on the back of Nori to stay with him because he was riding at a really good pace. I just didn't quite have those 3 or 4 tenths today so I will come back at Assen and try to step it up.”

Michel Fabrizio: “I didn't expect these results here at Valencia, at the most a top 5 position, because it's a difficult track for me. I'm really happy, the team gave me a lot of confidence. It was a really tough battle with Laconi, who was right behind me throughout the race. He brakes really late, I'm amazed he never managed to pass me!”

from: http://eurosport.yahoo.com

Full World Superbike Championship rider standings (After 3 rounds of 14 - Previous position in brackets)

1. (1) Noriyuki Haga Ducati Xerox 135 points

2. (2) Ben Spies Yamaha WSB 95

3. (3) Max Neukirchner Suzuki Alstare Brux 65

4. (11) Michel Fabrizio Ducati Xerox 60

5. (5) Leon Haslam Stiggy Honda 58

6. (7) Regis Laconi DFX Ducati 56

7. (4) Max Biaggi Aprilia 54

8. (6) Tom Sykes Yamaha WSB 47

9. (10) Yukio Kagayama Suzuki Alstare Brux 35

10. (8) Jonathan Rea Ten Kate Honda 33

11. (13) Ryuichi Kiyonari Ten Kate Honda 32

12. (14) Carlos Checa Ten Kate Honda 31

13. (9) Shinya Nakano Aprilia 27

14. (16) Shane Byrne Sterilgarda Ducati 26

15. (12) Troy Corser BMW Alpha 23

16. (15) Jakub Smrz Guandalini Ducati 18

17. (17) Ruben Xaus BMW Alpha 17

18. (-) Roberto Rolfo Stiggy Honda 9

19. (20) Broc Parkes Kawasaki WSB 8

20. (18) Tommy Hill Althea Honda 6

21. (19) Roberto Rolfo Stiggy Honda 3

22. (-) Makoto Tamada Kawasaki WSB 2

Full World Superbike Championship rider standings (After 3 rounds of 14 - Previous position in brackets)

1. (1) Ducati 135 points

2. (2) Yamaha 110

3. (3) Honda 73

4. (5) Suzuki 65

5. (4) Aprilia 57

6. (6) BMW 31

7. (7) Kawasaki 8

Fri+Sat news from WSBK- Round 3 - Valencia

Ben Spies took anther pole, after a slow start for the weekend he found his pas on Saturday where he took his 3rd pole out of 3 rounds.
As I predicted the other day, laconi is improving every round and today he proved me right by qualifying second. So well done Laconi.
Shinya Nakano had a bad crash this morning, broke his left collarbone in Saturday morning’s second qualifying session. Hope he gets well soon.
Haga is needs to win at least one of the races tomorrow, British Eurosport presenter Tony Carter believes this weekend's WSB outing is a crucial one for Noriyuki Haga and the Xerox Ducati campaign for 2009.
More details bellow:

Spies (Yamaha) powers to Superpole hat-trick at Valencia

Saturday, 04 April 2009 17:36 from: worldsbk.com

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) powered to his third Superpole position in three races at the Valencia track, the 24 year-old Texan once again proving to be the master of the new format. Spies, who had to switch to his second R1 machine in Superpole 2 after his first one developed a technical fault, set a record-breaking time of 1 minute 33.270 seconds, over half-a-second quicker than Neukirchner's best mark from last year. Flanking Spies on the front row will be a trio of Ducati 1098 machines, headed by the surprising Regis Laconi, who won on this track back in 1999 with a Yamaha 500. The two factory Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio are in third and fourth place respectively.

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike): "I was a bit worried about having to change bikes, we had an OK second Superpole but coming in we had a problem with the bike and had to revert back to the other one. It had a bit of a different set-up and I didn't get to try it in the morning practice, but luckily the change worked out well."

Regis Laconi (Ducati DFX): "I'm very happy because the bike is working really good on this track and we are ready. I won my first race in GP ten years ago and it's just a pleasure to be up here one more time. A big thanks to DFX and Ducati for giving me a great bike. I have had a couple of difficult years but I am happy now that I am back on a Ducati"

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox): "I'm very happy for the front row. In the weekend I find a good solution for the race and I've already decided for the tyre. And I am feeling confident, so tomorrow I will try to do my best and win twice and that is my target"

Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox): "I've come from two races where I haven't had very good results, but we found our way already on the Friday and I'm hoping for two good results tomorrow. We made a change on the bike and the feeling is much better now, similar to what it was like in pre-season testing."

The second row sees a double pairing, with Suzuki ahead of Honda. Yukio Kagayama took fifth from Max Neukirchner, while Jonathan Rea was seventh ahead of Carlos Checa. The Spanish rider just managed to avoid being eliminated in Superpole 2, setting his best time despite a fall. Broc Parkes again put in a positive performance for Kawasaki, setting 13th quickest time on his ZX-10R machine, just ahead of the BMW of Troy Corser, who had been expecting to go better in Superpole after a positive qualifying session. Once again the first knock-out phase saw some illustrious victims with Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia), one of the quickest riders throughout the day, not making the cut. The other Aprilia rider Shinya Nakano missed the Superpole after breaking his left collarbone in a crash in the morning. He was operated on today with the aim of being ready for the next round at Assen.

Times: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'33.270; 2. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'33.955; 3. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'34.082; 4. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'34.259; 5. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'34.755; 6. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'34.903; 7. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.056; 8. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.346 9. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.536; 10. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.655; 11. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'34.684; 12. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'34.742; 13. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'34.823; 14. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'34.863; 15. Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 1'35.082; 16. Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.251; 17. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'35.203; 18. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'35.204; 19) Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'35.806; 20. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'35.416

FYI- Motogp rider casey Stoner pole time in Valencia in 2008 was 1'31.502 and Marco melendis qualifying time (last on the grid) was 1'34.174 (that means he would have finished 5th in WSBK.

Nakano hurt at Valencia.

Sat 04 Apr, 06:00 PM from http://eurosport.yahoo.com/

Shinya Nakano will take no further part in the Valencia World Superbike weekend after breaking his left collarbone in Saturday morning’s second qualifying session.

The WSBK rookie, ninth in the championship with a best finish of fourth in the opening two rounds, was thrown from his Aprilia RSV4 after a mechanical failure.

The former MotoGP rider, eleventh in Friday’s first qualifying, underwent surgery afterwards and now faces a race against time to be fit for round four of the 2009 championship, at Assen on April 24-26.

Team-mate Max Biaggi will thus be the lone Aprilia rider in Sunday’s Valencia WSBK races. The Roman, fastest in Friday qualifying and Saturday free practice, was caught out in Superpole and will start just 18th.

Carter: Crucial weekend for Haga

Eurosport - Sat, 04 Apr 15:39:00 2009 from: http://eurosport.yahoo.com

British Eurosport presenter Tony Carter believes this weekend's WSB outing is a crucial one for Noriyuki Haga and the Xerox Ducati campaign for 2009.

Actually, scrub that - it's the most significant weekend for Haga for this year.

I'll explain. If Haga doesn't take the top spot in Valencia this weekend, at a circuit where he's constantly been a podium finisher, and multiple winner, over the years then he will struggle to dominate Ben Spies and the Yamaha anywhere else.

If Spies gets out on Sunday afternoon and finds his way to the top of the podium then it's hard to see how he will be stopped. He's not raced at Valencia before, he's still getting to grips with the Yamaha and he's undoubtedly going to get bumped and barged around Valencia's tough turns.

All things that could and should slow him down, or at the very least allow the other riders out there to close the gap up to the flying American on the growling Yam.

It's more about the mental game this weekend. If Spies wins another race then he's taken four from five, and five from six if he does the double.

There will be many in the paddock who will rue that if he hadn't been forced to take a close-up inspection of the gravel trap in race one in Phillip Island then Spies would, right now, be most likely sitting on four race wins from four races.

So for this weekend Haga has it all to do. He knows the bike, he clearly gets on well with it too. He knows the track and knows how to get a fast lap and a good result there. He is as aggressive as any of them on track and will, without hesitation, be more than up for the job in hand when Sunday's races come round.

But this will be a telling raceday. In previous years people have levelled the criticism at Haga that he only comes good towards the second half of the season. Well that might be true, but he's leading the championship going into Valencia so by anyone's standards he's had a strong start to his 2009 campaign.

But given how Spies performed in Qatar a couple of weeks ago, and the fact that he seems so very strong right now, I wouldn't bet on him getting out there and just wiping the floor with people again.

I can't tell you how much I don't want that to happen. With all the respect in the world for Spies and his Yamaha crew I am so very keen to see someone who is not either Haga or Spies taking the win and we will have to see how it plays out. The beauty of Valencia is that, as we have seen over the years, it can throw up the odd curveball.

Haga will want to leave the track on Sunday evening leading the world, yet Spies must be convinced that he can get the upper hand this weekend.

But don't discount the other front men. Strange things have happened at the Spanish track and we all know how well a certain Carlos Checa goes when he's got a home crowd to play in front of.

Providing he doesn't skittle another rider off on the last corner of the last lap again...

Oh and we have a certain Mr Hopkins joining us too. Keen to prove a point or two, the Stiggy Honda man is.

Tony Carter / Eurosport

Spies (Yamaha) does Qatar double at Losail

Spies (Yamaha) does Qatar double at Losail

Update: March 14, 2009, 16.50 PM ET (http://www.worldsbk.com/)

Yamaha's WSBK rookie rider Ben Spies took a spectacular double win in the second round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at the Losail circuit in Qatar. The 24 year-old Texan powered to his third win in the opening four races, dominating both today's 18-lappers and twice finishing ahead of Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia), who were classified second and third to make up identical podiums.

Race 1

Poleman Spies made his attack six laps from the end, and immediately pulled out a gap that allowed him to administer his lead until the flag. There was a great scrap for the runner-up slot between Haga and Biaggi, with the Japanese rider getting the nod. For Aprilia it was their first podium since returning to WSBK, and the Italian manufacturer's competitiveness was confirmed by fourth place for Shinya Nakano. Fifth went to Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate), the first Honda rider to the flag, who managed to hold off the attacks of the determined British duo of Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) and Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike). Troy Corser scored an encouraging ninth place for BMW, while Kawasaki notched up their first points in this year's championship with a 14th place for Broc Parkes. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) had disappointing races, both riders crashing out.

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike): "It was an extremely tough race, I had an OK start and when I got to the back of Nori and Max, we were all very strong on separate parts of the track. I was lacking a little bit off the last corner and it was very hard to make the pass, but once past, I put my head down and was able to keep it clean for the win despite a couple of mistakes."

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox): "It was quite hard at the end, I got a good start and after a few laps I was able to pass Max on the straight. A few laps more and he passed me again and it was difficult for me to catch up. I pushed on the last lap and did it and was very happy with the result."

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing): "I tried to keep up and have a good rhythm without losing concentration. We have a new bike and every session we try to improve, but it's not easy to win right away. These guys did a great job, I rode very hard and today I was comfy, both front and rear, and looking good."

Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 36'06.304 (160,93 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1.893; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 2.168; 4. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 12.061; 5. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 12.597; 6. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 12.971; 7. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 13.570; 8. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 19.306; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 19.388; 10. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 20.981; 11. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 21.164; 12. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 21.994; 13. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 22.917; 14. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 27.218; 15. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 31.602

Race 2

Spies also went on to take the win in race 2, confirming himself and his Yamaha to be the strongest combination in this early part of the season. This time the Texan had a different strategy, taking control in the early laps of the race and then gradually pulling away. Behind there was another terrific scrap for the runner-up slot between Haga and Biaggi, and once again second place went to the Japanese rider, who holds on to his points lead in the table. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda Racing) scored an excellent fourth place, but was unable to get in amongst the podium battle. Fifth place went to Sykes, while Neukirchner just got the edge over Nakano in a photo-finish. BMW made a major leap forward with Corser running fifth in the early stages, both the Australian and Xaus scoring top 10 points finishes. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) had a day to forget with a second DNF finish in two races.

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike): "Nori set a really good pace the first few laps. We were lacking just a little in acceleration and it was hard to race with him, but I put my head down and closed up, kept the same rhythm and passed him. It was a better race for me than the first one because I could concentrate on my lines, but it's going to be hard making up points on him if he keeps finishing second. It was a perfect weekend, they're not always going to be like that but we'll take them when we can."

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox): "I am really tired but happy for the result in race 2. When Ben passed me, I tried to stay with him but he is very fast. In one second he was going to 100 metres so I could not catch him! We made a good job, and I am leading the championship. Today, for me, Ben is ten years younger than me so that's why I lose!"

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing): "It was a great race, we confirmed our potential and the feeling we have on this track, which has always been good to me. I think the bike works well, we still have to improve but we are very pleased with the result. For sure we know these guys are a little bit quicker, they run hard and deserve what they did, but I am confident to improve during the season and get some good points."

Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 36'02.126 (161,241 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1.274; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1.622; 4. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1.845; 5. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 5.117; 6. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 9.512; 7. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 9.514; 8. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 12.621; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 13.842; 10. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 13.884; 11. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 13.888; 12. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 14.913; 13. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 15.762; 14. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 15.920; 15. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 19.565

Points (after 2 of 14 rounds): 1. Haga 85; 2. Spies 75; 3. Neukirchner 40; 4. Biaggi 38; 5. Haslam 36; 6. Sykes 32; 7. Laconi 30; 8. Rea 30; 9. Nakano 27; 10. Kagayama 25. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 85; 2. Yamaha 81; 3. Honda 51; 4. Aprilia 41; 5. Suzuki 40; 6. BMW 27; 7. Kawasaki 2.

FIM Supersport World Championship

The second round in Qatar saw the crowning of a new talent in World Supersport. Thanks to a perfect slipstreaming dash to the line, Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) scored his first win in the category. The Irish rider held off the attacks from reigning champion Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) to take the win. Former points leader Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) only finished fourth after making a mistake at the final curve, which opened the door for Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) to gain his first WSS podium. Seven Hondas placed in the first ten positions, including the Veidec Racing and Hannspree Althea machines of Robbin Harms and Matthieu Lagrive in fifth and sixth. Garry McCoy took the ParkinGO Triumph 675 to an encouraging seventh place, while Joan Lascorz could only manage thirteenth with the Kawasaki. Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Czech Honda), Phillip Island podium finisher Anthony West (Stiggy Racing) and Barry Veneman (Hoegee Suzuki) made up the top 10.

Results: 1. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 37'06.285 (156,595 kph); 2. Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 0.063; 3. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 0.625; 4. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 0.711; 5. Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 5.200; 6. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 5.233; 7. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 9.538; 8. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 9.551

Points (after 2 of 14 rounds): 1. Pitt 40; 2. Sofuoglu 38; 3. Laverty 36; 4. Crutchlow 29; 5. West 23; 6. Lagrive 15; 7. Roccoli 15; 8. Harms 12. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 50; 2. Yamaha 29; 3. Triumph 15; 4. Kawasaki 11; 5. Suzuki 9.

2009 World Superbike standings

Eurosport - Sat, 14 Mar 14:17:00 2009 (http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com)

The latest standings from the 2009 World Superbike Championship.

1 Noriyuki Hagi 85

2 Ben Spies 75

3 Max Neukirchner 40

4 Max Biaggi 38

5 Leon Haslam 36

6 Tom Sykes 32

7 Regis Laconi 30

8 Jonathan Rea 30

9 Shinya Nakano 27

10 Yukio Kagayama 25

World Supersport Championship

1 Kenan Sofuoglu 25

2 Andrew Pitt 20

3 Anthony West 16

4 Cal Crutchlow 13

5 Eugene Laverty 11

6 Mark Aitchison 10

7 Fabien Foret 9

8 Joan Lascorz 8

9 Massimo Roccoli 7

10 Gianluca Nannelli 6

Eurosport