WSBK- Race results from Donington

Spies closes gap at the top with double triumph at Donington

Sunday, 28 June 2009 19:49worldsbk.com

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) pulled off another amazing double triumph in the ninth round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship in front of 61,000 spectators at Donington Park. The Texan has now reduced the 48 point gap at the top of the table to 14 from Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), who crashed in race 2, picking up a broken vertebra in the process. Haga's Italian team-mate Michel Fabrizio was third in race 2 and is now 51 points behind. Aprilia had a good first race, with Max Biaggi second at the finish, while the best of the numerous British platoon present at Donington was Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda), who finished second to Spies in race 2.

Race 1

Spies continued to steamroller his way to the wins in World Superbike as he took his ninth victory of the year in the first race. After setting his eighth pole in qualifying, the Texan rider dominated the 23-lap race but was shadowed all the way by Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing). The Italian ran faultlessly in second until the final lap, when Ben upped the ante to power to the chequered flag, but Biaggi also encountered a fuel problem a couple of hundred metres from the flag and risked losing out on second. This was Biaggi's first podium since Qatar. Third went to points leader Haga, who limited the damage in a race where he was not in a position to challenge for the win. In the all-British battle for fourth place, Haslam got the better of Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati). Aprilia's excellent performance was completed by a sixth place for Shinya Nakano. Home idol and Misano winner Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) could only finish in seventh, ahead of John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda). Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) had a gear change problem and could only finish 12th, while Ruben Xaus scored one point for BMW.

Ben Spies: "It was a tough race for us, Max was there the whole time and we were both able to do quick laps. I got a bit of a gap then made a couple of mistakes and he got back on me. The last three laps I rode as hard as I could, we got down to the 30s, then I couldn't hear Max coming into the chicane on the last lap so knew something was wrong and I took the last corners easy. We can't be too conservative now, we have to claw back and get a whole lot of points in a couple of races."

Max Biaggi: "I am very happy with this result after a very hard decision we made in free practice and qualifying. Yesterday we found a way to go fast and we made the right choice in tyres and the balance was correct. In the warm-up we had some problems but for the race we fixed most of them. Just on the last lap at the last chicane we had some trouble, I don't know what, the bike just stopped and then went back again in the last few metres before the flag. I think I deserved second!"

Noriyuki Haga: "I tried to do my best but the front two guys were very fast. I tried to catch up for the victory but I had to settle for third position. Of course during the laps I tried to push and catch them up but it was quite difficult. Our package was quite different but for the next race we try to change something to improve the riding of the bike."

Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 34'57.230 (158,831 kph); 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 7.156; 3. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 10.968; 4. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 18.843; 5. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 19.125; 6. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 21.286; 7. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 23.644; 8. Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 32.849; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 32.904; 10. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 33.192; 11. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 34.535; 12. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 35.093; 13. Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 35.441; 14. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 39.034; 15. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 41.067; 16. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 46.4

Race 2

Spies also dominated the second race, but this time without any pressure from his rivals. The Yamaha man immediately pulled away at the start to pick up a seven second lead, which he administered easily to pick up his tenth win of the year. Spies' double coincided with a disaster for Haga, who crashed out of second place on lap 5 while trying to make up ground on the leader. The Japanese rider was taken to hospital in Derby with a fractured vertebra and other injuries. Race 2 saw a British rider on the podium, thanks to Haslam, who held off Fabrizio. With the outcome of this race, the Italian keeps alive his title chances. Byrne put on another good show, finishing fourth ahead of fellow Brit Tom Sykes. Xaus again scored points for BMW, this time with a positive ninth place. Both Aprilia riders crashed out, Biaggi suffering a hairline crack in his right foot in the process, but remounting to finish 21st, while John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda) did not make it to the start of race 2, the still-injured American totally exhausted after his race 1 efforts.

Ben Spies: "It was a picture perfect weekend, I know Haga had a big crash and hope he's OK. That's not the way you want to do it but you've got to capitalize when things go wrong. The track was definitely hot in the second race and a little bit slick so we made some changes to the bike that made it better. Fortunately we didn't have to push to the absolute limit but it all worked great today."

Leon Haslam: "We've been struggling for the past few rounds with unknown circuits and I really wanted to get on that podium today. I feel good, obviously feel sorry for Haga because I was pushing him hard and I was pretty happy to get second. In the first race I was really suffering from chatter but everyone in the team has been behind me all weekend so a big thanks to them."

Michel Fabrizio: "Today Ben was very fast and it was impossible to catch him. In the first race I had a problem with the gear change, while in the second I had a great battle with Haslam. I am very happy with the result, but very sorry for Haga and his crash."

Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 35'14.788 (157,512 kph); 2. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 6.622; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.816; 4. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 7.349; 5. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 8.145; 6. Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 13.463; 7. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 15.751; 8. Ellison J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 16.837; 9. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 22.891; 10. Andrews S. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 30.347; 11. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 30.622;12. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 31.562; 13. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 32.148; 14. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 32.607; 15. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 32.806; 16. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 34.269

Points (after 9 of 14 rounds): 1. Haga 308; 2. Spies 294; 3. Fabrizio 257; 4. Rea 177; 5. Haslam 167; 6. Biaggi 155; 7. Sykes 141; 8. Smrz 115; 9. Checa 114; 10. Byrne 113. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 383; 2. Yamaha 337; 3. Honda 273; 4. Aprilia 162; 5. Suzuki 131; 6. Bmw 70; 7. Kawasaki 47

Surgery a success, Haga will return to Italy today

Tuesday, 30 June 2009 11:14 worldsbk.com

At 5pm this afternoon Ducati Xerox rider Noriyuki Haga underwent successful surgery at the Derby City Hospital. Having fractured the ulna in his right arm in Sunday's crash at Donington Park, Noriyuki today had a plate and screws inserted to set the bone. The surgical team deemed the surgery a success and there were no unforeseen complications.

Prior to the operation, medical staff took a closer look at his right shoulder blade and an x-ray unfortunately confirmed that he has multiple fractures to his left scapula. The scapula will not necessitate surgical intervention and the bone should knit itself back together in time; this complication should not prolong Noriyuki's recovery time. The Japanese rider should be discharged from hospital today and he and his family will fly back to Italy so that Noriyuki can begin the necessary physiotherapy treatment.

The Ducati Xerox rider will not participate in the next tests at Imola but it is foreseen that he will compete in the next round at Brno.

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)

Misano- WSBK- Day 1

WSBK: Fabrizio edges out Spies

At end of Misano Q1( moto-live.com)

19/06/09 19:16

Michel Fabrizio Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) slammed in two quick laps in rapid succession at the end of today's Misano Q1 to end up with the provisional pole at the Misano World Circuit. The Italian's time of 1 minute 37.016 seconds was good enough to edge out Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) from the top slot, after the Texan rookie had headed the standings almost throughout. Third and fourth on the provisional front row of the grid went to the still injured Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) and British rider Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). The top 19 positions in today's standings are all contained within one second, confirming the current equilibrium reigning in Superbike. The provisional front row is also made up of four different manufacturers - Ducati, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda – with a fifth, Kawasaki, opening up the second row following a superb performance by Broc Parkes. The session also confirmed the constant improvement of the Ten Kate Honda team, with Ryuichi Kiyonari and Carlos Checa in sixth and seventh position respectively, ahead of points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), four-tenths of a second down on his team-mate. After two difficult events, BMW have bounced back into the top 10, with Troy Corser running well throughout and ending up tenth overall. This time round BMW went better than Aprilia, as Shinya Nakano could only manage 11th and Max Biaggi 16th, eight-tenths off the polesitter. For the moment John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda) is outside the Superpole top 20, the American down in 26th position on his return to action following his Assen crash. Misano Superbike - Free Practice 1st Session (worldsbk.com) 1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'38.049 284 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'38.154 3 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.591 4 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'38.616 5 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.645 6 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'38.746 7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.750 8 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.935 9 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'39.043 10 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'39.047 11 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'39.095 12 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'39.154 13 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'39.155 14 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'39.165 15 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'39.181 16 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'39.302 17 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'39.590 18 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'39.659 19 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'39.814 20 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'39.863 21 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'39.907 22 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'39.978 23 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'40.196 24 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'40.297 25 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'40.305 26 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'40.385 27 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1'40.443 28 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'40.772 29 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'42.365 Misano Superbike - Qualifying 1st Session (worldsbk.com) 1 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'37.016 2 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'37.102 3 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'37.209 4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'37.238 5 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'37.281 6 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'37.396 7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'37.441 8 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'37.451 9 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'37.490 10 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'37.503 11 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'37.630 12 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'37.702 13 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'37.710 14 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'37.773 15 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'37.786 16 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'37.813 17 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'37.898 18 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'37.979 19 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'37.992 20 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.441 21 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.522 22 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.671 23 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.755 24 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.827 25 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1'38.828 26 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.856 27 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'39.067 28 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'39.308 29 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'40.489 Hopkins is back on track At Misano 19/06/09 15:51 (moto-live.com) American John Hopkins makes his return to the series this weekend for a second chance to show how well he can fare on the Stiggy Racing Honda Superbike. The high profile entrant to the Superbike series made a promising start with his new team at Valencia, but had to back down only two weeks later, after a horrific crash in the opening practice at Assen sidelined the ex-MotoGP rider for four rounds. A tough and determined John Hopkins has recuperated from his injuries in just six weeks time though, and is eager to hunt down the front runners of the Superbike field once again at one of his favourite tracks this weekend. " Misano is a track I do like a lot. I had some decent results there in the past, and got on the podium in the 2007 MotoGP race. It is a circuit I enjoy well, and the audience is always great. People really take a liking towards the World Superbike series, and I expect the atmosphere to be similar to the one we received at the MotoGP races”, he said. “It is going to be an exciting race and hopefully I can be out there from the start. Right now, I am not going to make any promises of running at the front of the field. I am just taking it step-by-step and focus on getting a good feeling with the bike again and set the best possible results for the team and myself." In the remaining seven rounds and 14 races of the championship there are another 350 points to divide, before the new World Superbike champion will be crowned. Ben Spies Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (2nd, 1'37.102) "It was a good first day for us, the second session we opted to run race set up and we never put any new tyres on. A race is 22 laps around here, on the 22nd lap today we were half a second off the fastest lap done here. I'm pleased with that and we ran our whole race simulation in the 37's. I'm ecstatic about the bike and tomorrow if it stays dry we know we've got a good package. We know if we put sticky tyres on it's definitely going to go fast. If it rains, I guess we get some good rain time and go play in the rain. It's still tough for us coming and learning these new tracks so I'm glad we picked it up as quickly as we did. There is still some more settings to find to be more comfortable but the speed is there. If it is wet then I hope we'll be up there too, I don't have as much time on this bike in the wet but I like riding in the rain." Tom Sykes Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (19th, 1'37.992) "I think today we've made big improvements, this morning we lost a bit of track time with a couple of things but this afternoon we went from a high 39 to a 37.9 so we've found two seconds. I'm only eight or nine tenths of the front guys which is not a lot and considering it's my first time here it's not bad. We can still make improvements over the weekend and hopefully we'll make it work and see what tomorrow brings." yamaha-racing.com

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)

Total domination by Spies in Utah US Round

Monday, 01 June 2009 02:35 (worldsbk.com)

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) annihilated the opposition in the Utah US Round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at Miller Motorsports Park, picking up his second double win of the year in his rookie SBK season. In front of 47,300 spectators the Texan again reopened the title battle in a championship that following Kyalami appeared to be firmly in the hands of Ducati. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), who crashed heavily in practice, ran the two races in a bruised state, finishing ninth and eighth. The Japanese rider lost ground to Spies as well as to his team-mate Michel Fabrizio, who finished third and second. With the season now at its mid-point Haga leads on 265 points, with Spies up to 212 and Fabrizio on 201.

Race 1

Spies dominated the first race to cut the gap at the top of the table, as Haga could only finish in ninth place, losing 18 points in the process. The race was interrupted on lap 7 after a crash involving Australian Karl Muggeridge (Celani Suzuki), who only came away with a few bruises. Spies powered away again in the second part to win by a comfortable margin on aggregate times. Behind Spies finished Spain's Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), last year's double winner, and third place went to Fabrizio who was slowed by two poor starts. It was a good day for Ten Kate Honda as Ryuichi Kiyonari and Jonathan Rea came home in fourth and fifth position respectively. Max Biaggi started from row 4 but worked his way up to sixth position at the flag on his Aprilia RSV4 machine.

Ben Spies: "We've been working on our starts a bit and this is a long straightaway and I really needed to get a good one here. After the restart it was tough because I really wanted to win on the road and couldn't take too many risks to keep Carlos at bay. I just wanted to cross the line first even though I had a six-second cushion."

Carlos Checa: "From the beginning Ben was too strong today. I didn't have so much grip in the first part but then we adjusted the tyre pressure and it was better in the second. The Honda is working well here, we have a good base from last year and we used that benefit to get at a certain level and get a good result. We needed this result because it has not been so good for us since the start of the year."

Michel Fabrizio: "It's a pity about the second start, I felt a bit like a ping-pong ball, because I was under attack from all sides by three of four other guys. Luckily, I managed to stay upright. Afterwards I managed to run at my own pace and get onto the podium for a good result."

Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 38'30.945 (160,527 kph); 2. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 9.394; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 12.742; 4. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 14.276; 5. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 14.915; 6. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 15.461; 7. Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 22.901; 8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 25.425; 9. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 25.870; 10. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 26.093; 11. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 26.181; 12. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 29.275; 13. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 38.365; 14. Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 39.454; 15. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 39.513; 16. Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 48.889

Race 2

The second race was similar to the first, with the three-times AMA Superbike champion Spies taking the lead at the first turn and never relinquishing it. Fabrizio this time got off to an excellent start and was second at the first corner, the Italian managing to keep Spies in his sights for over half the race before settling for the runner-up slot. Checa crashed out on lap 4, leaving the battle for the final podium place to be fought out between Rea, Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda), who crashed out on the final lap, and Biaggi, competitive in the race after problems in qualifying. Kiyonari, Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) and Shinya Nakano (Aprilia Racing) all finished ahead of Haga in eighth. It was an encouraging race for Kawasaki, with Parkes and Hacking often running inside the top 10, but BMW again had a difficult time of things with Xaus and Corser finishing outside the top 15.

Ben Spies: "That was a tough race, I almost feel like I robbed Michel because he rode fantastic. I tried to set a good pace but a pace that was comfortable and every time he took a tenth out I had to put a tenth back to keep him at bay. Then in the last six laps I pulled the pin and held it to the end. It's good to get a double win here, unfortunately we know Haga's not 100% but you've got to capitalize on the weekend and we made up some points."

Michel Fabrizio: "It was a good weekend, I tried every way possible until five or six laps from the end to give some problems to Ben but in my attempt to catch up to him I pusher a bit too hard and finished the front tyre so there was nothing I could do."

Jonathan Rea: "The guys have put a great bike under me this weekend, we've done some good development, but I've never had to race as slow as I could for third place because I had a few problems with the front and the front tyre. Ben and Michel put on a great run at the front, I couldn't go with them. I could see a big gaggle of riders behind me, and thought I'd keep something in reserve until the end but I couldn't see what happened with Leon's crash. Anyway it was my second podium in two rounds so I'm very happy.

Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 38'25.391 (160,914 kph);2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 9.080; 3. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 14.357; 4. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 15.636; 5. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 17.156; 6. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 17.546; 7. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 19.659; 8. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 23.455; 9. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 30.489; 10. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 31.775; 11. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 33.246; 12. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 36.758; 13. Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 36.887; 14. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 37.290; 15. Zemke J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 42.639; 16. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 42.777

Points (after 7 of 14 rounds): 1. Haga 265; 2. Spies 212; 3. Fabrizio 201; 4. Rea 133; 5. Biaggi 126; 6. Haslam 122; 7. Sykes 113; 8. Kyonari 96; 9. Checa 93; 10. Smrz 82. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 311; 2. Yamaha 253; 3. Honda 206; 4. Aprilia 129; 5. Suzuki 113; 6. Bmw 60; 7. Kawasaki 41

Ben Spies Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (1st, 1st) "We've been working on our starts a little bit and with such a long straight we needed one. The first race was pretty comfortable for me, it's a great track if you can get out in front and get into a rhythm. It was a tough race in race two, I almost feel like I robbed Michel of a win he rode so well. I tried to set a good pace but also a pace that was comfortable. In the last six laps I just pulled the pin and gave it everything we could. The pace was extremely fast and it was a great race. It's great to get a double win here, unfortunately we all know Haga is not 100% but you got to capitalize on the weekends when you can. I think Misano is going to be another track the R1 is going to excel it so we're going to go over there with an open mind and see what we can get away with."

Tom Sykes Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (13th, 9th) "We still had some issues with the bike today and obviously the starting position didn't help matters much. We got off the line fairly well in race one but got boxed in on turn one and lost position a bit. A difficult first race but the red flag helped me re start further up the grid and I managed to run some consistent race times. For race two we made a bit more of a change and found another half a second which was good and had a good start. In the first lap I came from 22nd to 14th which was pretty good. Overall it's been quite a difficult weekend with a couple of things but the team and I have sat down and put our heads together and we've made a drastic improvement to the set up and the way we work, we're going to be stronger as a team and I'm confident I can now repay the team and deliver the goods." Ben Spies gets a special 'Texan Terror' make-over for his home race at Salt Lake City Ben's Boots Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies was wearing a rather special pair of boots and a unique one off helmet as he stormed to a double victory in the Salt Lake City sunshine for the US round of the World Superbike Championship. Ben's Helmet The helmet and boot art was created by legendary helmet artist Aldo Drudi of Drudi Performance, known globally for his incredible designs on Moto GP rider Valentino Rossi's lids. The helmet design incorporated some of the Texan flag seen on Spies' bike and also featured the very appropriate slogan 'Texan Terror' on the back of the helmet. An apt expression considering the ruthless way he dealt with the competition on race day in America. For more images of both the helmet and the boots, please log on to www.yamaha-racing.com and go to the image gallery in the WSB section. (yamaha-racing.com)