WSBK - 2010 Calendar & Provisional entry lists

Dates Country Circuit
Feb-28 Australia Phillip Island
Mar-28 Portugal Portimão
Apr-11 Spain Valencia A
pr-25 Netherlands Assen
May-09 Italy Monza
May-16 South Africa Kyalami
May-31 United States Salt Lake City(***)
Jun-27 San Marino Misano
Jul-11 Czech Rep. Brno
Aug-01 Great-Britain Silverstone
Sep-05 Germany Nürburgring
Sep-26 Italy Imola(*)
Oct-03 France Magny-Cours


2010 Provisional Entry List
N° Rider Nat Team Motorcycle
1 41 Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R
2 84 Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R
3 35 Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda Team Yamaha YZF R1
4 52 James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda Team Yamaha YZF R1
5 65 Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR
6 76 Max Neukirchner GER HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR
7 2 Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 1000
8 3 Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 1000
9 50 Sylvain Guintoli FRA Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000
10 91 Leon Haslam GBR Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000
11 11 Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR
12 111 Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR
13 66 Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki World Superbike Racing Team Kawasaki ZX 10R
14 77 Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki World Superbike Racing Team Kawasaki ZX 10R
15 96 Jakub Smrz CZE Borciani-Guandalini Racing Team Ducati 1098R
16 95 Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R
17 TBA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R
18 TBA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R
19 7 Carlos Checa ESP Althea Racing Ducati 1098R
20 67 Shane Byrne GBR Althea Racing Ducati 1098R
21 31 Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Squadra Corse Italia Honda CBR1000RR
22 23 Broc Parkes AUS ECHO CRS Grand Prix Honda CBR1000RR
23 88 Andrew Pitt AUS Reitwagen Motorsport BMW S1000 RR
24 123 Roland Resch AUT Reitwagen Motorsport BMW S1000 RR
25 49 Makoto Tamada JPN Pro-Ride World Superbike Racing Team Honda CBR1000RR
26 99 Luca Scassa ITA Supersonic Team Ducati 1098R

Super Six for Spies in Superpole

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) powered to his sixth successive Superpole triumph at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa, equaling the long-standing record set by his fellow Texan Doug Polen (Ducati) in 1991. The session at Kyalami was one of the most exciting seen so far this season, with a two-way battle between the two Monza winners, Spies and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox). The outcome was decided in the final seconds, when the Texan responded to his Italian rival with quickest time by just one-thousandth of a second, the smallest margin ever recorded in Superpole.

Third and fourth places on the front row went to Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox). The Italian, who also recorded the top speed of the day at 251.8 km/h on his RSV4, capitalized on his final run to jump up from seventh to third. For points leader Haga, fourth place can be considered an excellent result: the Japanese rider was almost eliminated in the second knock-out phase, but just managed to make the cut by a whisker from Shinya Nakano (Aprilia Racing).

The second row line-up saw an impressive performance from Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who will be flanked by the best of the privateers, Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati), Hannspree Ten Kate team-mate Carlos Checa and Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike). South African rider Sheridan Morais put in a good performance for eleventh place on the Kawasaki ZX-10R machine vacated temporarily by Tamada, while Suzuki and BMW struggled, with Yukio Kagayama and Ruben Xaus down on the fourth row of the grid.

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'37.288
2 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'37.289
3 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'37.466
4 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'37.544
5 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'37.634
6 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'37.677
7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'37.940
8 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'38.241
9 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'37.935
10 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'37.988
11 132 Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.013
12 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.081
13 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'38.130
14 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'38.171
15 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'38.194
16 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'38.733
17 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.766
18 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.779
19 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.880
20 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'39.001
21 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'39.831
22 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'39.852
23 17 Martin S. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'41.227
24 49 Whyte S. (RSA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'41.737

Get to know the grid: WSBK- Jakub Smrž #96

Jakub Smrž #96

Personal opinion: he is a pretty strong rider, he is improving constantly, I hope this year he will continue to, maybe this year he will finish in the top 10

Jakub Smrz superpole lap Phillip Island

www.OnTheThrottle.tv interviews Ducati 1098 rider Jakub Smrz during HANNspree FIM World Superbike Championship round 6 at Miller Motorsports Park in the U.S. The best Motorcycle roadracing.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jakub Smrž (born April 7, 1983 in České Budějovice, Czech Republic) is a professional motorcycle road racer currently competing in the Superbike World Championship.

Current team Guandalini Racing by Grifo's

He first entered the 125cc World Championship in 2000. He was 17th overall in 2001, then divided his time between 125cc and the 250cc championships in 2002. He remained in the 250cc World Championship until 2006, finishing 12th overall with a best of 7th that year.

For 2007 he was the surprise choice to replace Roberto Rolfo at the formerly race-winning SC Caracchi Ducati team in the Superbike World Championship. On a customer Ducati 999 F05 he frequently troubled the top 16 in qualifying. He finished the season 14th with a best race result of 8th.

In 2008 he roding a customer Ducati 1098 RS 08 for the Guandalini Racing by Grifo's teamand finished 13th.

Jakub Smrž lives in Jílovice.

WSBK Riders

# Rider Team Bike

3 Max Biaggi Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory
7 Carlos Checa HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR
9 Ryuichi Kiyonari Ten Kate Honda Racing Honda CBR1000RR
11 Troy Corser BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR
15 Matteo Baiocco PSG1-1 Corse Kawasaki ZX 10R
19 Ben Spies Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1
23 Broc Parkes Kawasaki World Superbike R.T. Kawasaki ZX 10R
24 Brendan Roberts Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R
25 David Salom Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R
31 Karl Muggeridge Celani Race Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
33 Tommy Hill Honda Althea Racing Honda CBR1000RR
41 Noriyuki Haga Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R
44 Roberto Rolfo Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR
55 Règis Laconi DFX Corse Ducati 1098R
56 Shinya Nakano Aprilia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory
65 Jonathan Rea HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR
66 Tom Sykes Yamaha WSB Yamaha YZF R1
67 Shane Byrne Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R
71 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki Alstare BRUX Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
76 Max Neukirchner Suzuki Alstare BRUX Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
77 Vittorio Iannuzzo Squadra Corse Italia Honda CBR1000RR
84 Michel Fabrizio Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R
86 Ayrton Badovini PSG1-1 Corse Kawasaki ZX 10R- will no longer race
88 Roland Resch TKR Suzuki Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
91 Leon Haslam Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR
94 David Checa Yamaha France GMT 94 Ipone Yamaha YZF R1
96 Jakub Smrz Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R
99 Luca Scassa Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R
100 Makoto Tamada Kawasaki World Superbike R.T. Kawasaki ZX 10R
111 Ruben Xaus BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR
121 John Hopkins Stiggy Racing Honda Honda CBR1000RR

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

Get to know the grid: WSBK- Régis Laconi #55

Régis Laconi #55

Personal opinion: after his 2005 injury and the move in 2006 to Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse from Caracchi Ducati, he wasn’t able to repeat his early years performance, so far the move back to riding a Ducati even if it is as a privateer in DFX Corse team seams to be good for him, as he is already improved his results from the last few years.
There is a definite improvement from the race in Qatar to the race in Australia,

Regis Laconi Goes Nuts

Laconi at the 2002 Dutch TT, has an embarrassing ducky-fit at a marshall trying to help him.



French World Superbike rider Régis Laconi and his great tough fight with his Ducati at Philip Island track in 2005. At the end it was impossible to save what is pity - it could be even more awesome.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and motorcycle-usa.com

Régis Laconi
Régis Laconi Brands Hatch 2007
Nationality	French
Date of birth	July 8, 1975
Place of birth	St. Dizier, France
SBK Record
Current team	Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse
Bike number	55
World Championships	0
Race starts	142
Race Wins	11
Podium finishes	28
Pole positions	7
Fastest laps	10
2008 Championship position	18th (16pts)

Régis Laconi born July 8, 1975 in St. Dizier France is a professional motorcycle racer. In 2008 he competes in the Superbike World Championship for Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse. He was runner-up in 2004, and has won races in both 500cc and the Superbike World Championship.

Early career

Régis has a French mother and Italian father. He started racing in 1991 in the French 125cc championship. He won this title in 1992, the French 250cc title a year later, and the European 250cc title in 1994. For 1995 he went to the 250cc World Championship, but was never a front-runner in his two seasons there.

500cc

1997 was his first season on a 500cc Grand Prix bike, but his World Championship season was ended by injury. With Red Bull backing he returned for 1998, riding a Yamaha for three years. He finished 10th, 11th and 12th in the series in this time, but won at Valencia in 1999.

Superbike World Championship

For 2001 he was a factory Aprilia WSBK rider. He lead the first lap of the season, but struggled for much of the season on circuits he did not know. Until the final round at Imola his best result was a 4th, but he benefitted from knowing this circuit (which, like himself, was new to WSBK after being familiar in 500cc). He qualified 2nd, and won the second race, after running strongly in race 1 before being taken out by a fall for champion Troy Bayliss.A move to MotoGP for 2002 was not successful, with a best result of 8th, so for 2003 he returned to WSBK for the Caracchi Ducati team, doing enough to earn a factory ride for 2004 by taking 5 podium finishes, finishing 4th in a relatively weakened championship.

He and team-mate James Toseland were clear favourites for the 2004 title, which Toseland took at the final round of the season, in spite of Régis taking 5 poles and 7 wins, and having what is seen as the stronger team of mechanics. His 2005 season was interrupted by injury, and for 2006 he switched to Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse. He finished the season behind his two team-mates in the championship, taking 15th place, with Chris Walker in 9th and Fonsi Nieto in 10th.

He remained with the team for 2007 and finished 10th overall. He continues with the same team for 2008. At Misano the team ran in a localised San Marino livery, but unfortunately both he and team-mate Makoto Tamada crashed in race 1, forcing Laconi to run race 2 in the conventional green Kawasaki livery.

After a frustrating 16th place finish in 2008 Laconi left the PSG-1 Kawasaki squad. Laconi is now one of many to campaign the 1098R as a privateer. The Frenchman will ride for the DFX Corse banner for 2009.

Career Highlights:
2008 - 16th WSB
2007 - 10th WSB
2006 - 15th WSB
2004 - 2nd WSB
2003 - 4th WSB
2002 - 19th MotoGP
2001 - 11th WSB
1999 - 11th MotoGP

Get to know the grid: WSBK- Max Neukirchner #76

Max Neukirchner #76
Personal pinion: was 5th last year, and is already 3rd this year, he has improved his positions almost every year of his career, I hope this year he will be able to improve last years, I am not sure he will be bale to bet Haga and Spies but he will defiantly be able to be in the top 5 if not top 3.

World Superbikes from Valencia

Born: 20/04/1983 Stollberg
Team 2009: Suzuki Alstare BRUX
Bike 2009: Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9

Note:
2007: 9' World SBK
2006: 18' World SBK
2005: 12' World SBK

Max

from: http://www.max-neukirchner.de

• PROFILE

• Name: Max Neukirchner
• Date of Birth: 20th of April 1983
• Place of Birth: Stollberg
• Residence: Stollberg
• Height / Weight: 1.79 m / 72 kg
• Eyecolor: Blue
• Haircolor: Brown

LIKES & DISLIKES

Hobbies:

Go-Kart, Snowboarding, Swimming

Favorite Food:

Filetsteak, Mussels, Fish, Seafood, Pizza ,Chinese Food

Favorite Drinks:

Wine, Cocktails

Favorite Music:

Rock, Alternative, Metal, Hip Hop, Blues, Jazz

Max' Dislikes:

Drugs, to be lied

Own Bike:

Suzuki Burgman 650

Own Car:

Suzuki Vitara

Favorite Circuits:

Phillip Island, Brünn

First Race:

at the age of 14 at the ADAC Juniorcup on Aprillia 125ccm

Best Moments:

2008 1. & 2. Place Monza, 1. Place Misano

Previous Career:

• 1997:
  Begin of his racing career in ADAC Juniorcup on Aprilia 125ccm
• 1999:
  4th place Deutsche Straßenmeisterschaft Brno
• 2000:
  10th place German Championship 250ccm
• 2001:
  5th place German Championship 250ccm
• 2002:
  2nd place German Championship 250ccm
  10th place European Championship 250ccm
• 2003:
  3rd place European Championship 250ccm
• 2004:
  9th place World championship Supersport 600 Team Klaffi Honda
• 2005:
  12th place World Superbike Team Klaffi
• 2006:
  18th place World Superbike Team Pedercini Ducati
• 2007:
  9th place 1000 ccm Superbike World Championship
• 2008:
  5th Place 1000ccm Superbike World Championship

World Supersport and Superbike

In 2004 he competed in the Supersport World Championship riding for Klaffi Honda, finishing the season ranked 9th with 63 points.

For 2005, Neukirchner, along with the Klaffi Honda team, moved to the Superbike World Championship. He got a 3rd place podium finish at Phillip Island (but broke his hand at the next round in Valencia ) and finished the season 12th with 123 points.

He looked set to remain with Klaffi Honda in 2006 but the ride eventually went to Alex Barros. Klaffi wasn't able to find the money to run a second bike for Neukirchner and he was left without a ride. He joined Pedercini Ducati but after a poor first half of the season Neukirchner and Pedercini announced their spilt. Neukirchner went on to replace Fabien Foret at Alstare Eng. Corona Extra. He finished the season 18th with 28 points.

For 2007 Neukirchner rode for Suzuki Germany and finished the season ranked ninth overall. The team used the 2006-spec works Suzuki GSX-R1000 K6.

For 2008 he rides a 2007-spec Suzuki GSX-R1000 motorcycle for Team Alstare Suzuki. At Valencia he took his first career pole, and lead until the final corner, where he was hit by Carlos Checa, Neukirchner breaking his collarbone. On 27 April 2008 at Assen he achieved his second world superbike podium finish, finishing behind Troy Bayliss and Checa in the first race .

Neukirchner took his maiden victory (and the first for a German rider) in the first race at Monza, his 70th race in SBK. He won by just 0.058 seconds from Noriyuki Haga. In race 2, he achieved another podium, finishing 2nd to Haga, missing out on victory by 0.009 seconds in a three-way blanket finish. At Miller Motorsport Park he was helped to learn the fastest line through the early part of the track by video of Suzuki's AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies .

He will remain with the team for 2009 and 2010.

WSBK- Day 2 results

from: http://www.worldsbk.com

Go Ben Spies

Superbike - Free Practice 2nd Session

Update: March 13, 2009, 12.55 PM ET

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'59.064
2 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'59.374
3 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.470
4 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.495
5 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'59.519
6 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'59.582
7 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.605
8 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'59.636
9 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'59.668
10 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'59.958
11 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'59.969
12 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 2'00.034
13 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2'00.087
14 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 2'00.095
15 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 2'00.217
16 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 2'00.261
17 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.327
18 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'00.439
19 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.440
20 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.644
21 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.803
22 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.869
23 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.388
24 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.392
25 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 2'01.419
26 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.914
27 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'02.158
28 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'02.397

Superbike - Qualifying 2nd Session

Update: March 13, 2009, 09.45 PM ET

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'58.886
2 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.177
3 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'59.499
4 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'59.632
5 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.731
6 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'59.755
7 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'59.812
8 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'59.821
9 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.937
10 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.954
11 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'00.012
12 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.117
13 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 2'00.193
14 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 2'00.238
15 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 2'00.254
16 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.264
17 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.345
18 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.374
19 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.390
20 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 2'00.480
21 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.738
22 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'00.839
23 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.047
24 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 2'01.165
25 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.560
26 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.561
27 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.607
28 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'02.663

Superbike - Superpole

Update: March 13, 2009, 14:14 PM ET

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'57.280
2 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'57.384
3 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'57.694
4 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'57.850
5 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'57.878
6 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 1'58.755
7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.090
8 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 2'00.021
9 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'58.734
10 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'58.919
11 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'59.044
12 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.055
13 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'59.074
14 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'59.134
15 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.435
16 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.454
17 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.713
18 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.882
19 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'59.926
20 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.108
21 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.738
22 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'00.839
23 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.047
24 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 2'01.165
25 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.560
26 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.561
27 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.607
28 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'02.663

Get to know the grid: WSBK- NORIYUKI HAGA 41

Today and in the next few weeks I will post every day about 2 riders, one from MotoGP and one from WSBK.

About each rider I will go over his raiding career, successes and failures, facts and rumors, to help you all to get to know the grid better.

I will go by teams

And the first team is Ducati

WSBK

NORIYUKI HAGA #41 Team: Ducati Xerox Team, Bike: Ducati 1098R

Pic: Tim Keeton/Raymonds Press Agency. 3/5/04.
British Superbikes. Round 4, Oulton Park, Cheshire.
British Superbikes Race 1. Vince Whittle's Ducati RS explodes in a fireball as Noriyuki Haga tries to take evasive action.

Stats from WorlsSBK.com

TITLES	FAST L.	3RD PL.	2ND PL.	WINS	PODIUM	RACES	POLE	YEARS
0	46	25	30	34	89	0	0
Position	FAST L.	3RD PL.	2ND PL.	WINS	PODIUM	RACES	POLE	YEARS
1	1	0	1	1	2	2	0	2009 SBK

3	4	0	4	7	11	28	1	2008 SBK
2	12	3	6	6	15	25	2	2007 SBK
3	3	5	5	1	11	24	1	2006 SBK
3	6	5	3	2	10	23	0	2005 SBK
3	7	1	2	6	9	22	0	2004 SBK
4	4	4	3	0	7	26	1	2002 SBK
2	3	3	4	4	11	24	0	2000 SBK
7	0	1	0	1	2	0	0	1999 SBK
6	4	2	0	5	7	0	1	1998 SBK
13	1	1	1	1	3	0	0	1997 SBK
22	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	1996 SBK

Opinion: He is a strong rider, now raiding retired world champion Troy Byless old Bick, he is a strong contender for the 2009 wsbk champion title.

Bio

From: his official web site: http://www.nki41.com/home.html

Born: 02/03/1975 Nagoya

Team 2009: Ducati Xerox Racing Team

Bike 2009: Ducati 1198

Career:

2000 - 2007 - 2008: 2' World SBK

2004 - 2005 - 2006: 3' World SBK

2002: 4' World SBK - 1999: 7' World SBK

Poles: 5

Races: 230

Podium: 87

Wins: 33

Fast Lap:45

Favourite circuits: Laguna Seca, Suzuka, Brands Hatch, Assen

Hobbies: Aquatic sports, golf, hangin' out with family and friends

He likes: Happy people and ...

He hates: People don't ask "sorry" when mistake ...

Noriyuki Haga also known as Nitro-Nori...

He won the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in 1996 with American Colin Edwards as his teammate.

He was the Japanese Superbike Champion in 1997, coupled with four top-five finishes in World Superbike (WSBK) while filling in for the injured Edwards.

In 1998 N-N was racing WSBK full-time, adopting the number 41 he has used ever since.

He won five races (including 3 of the first 4) and finished sixth in the championship, despite lacking knowledge of most circuits on the calendar. He also scored an unexpected third place podium in a 500cc wild-card ride at his home race at Suzuka. Haga finished seventh in the WSBK standings in 1999 on the new R7 Yamaha.

As Akira Yanagawa came 5th, he was not the highest placed Japanese rider, something which has never happened since.

Nori improved his performance to challenge for the title in 2000.

Many race fans feel he would have won the 2000 championship had he not been disqualified for testing positive for a banned substance. It was later learned that the banned substance was ephedrine, which occurs naturally in herbs used in the Ma Huang supplement Haga had been taking during the off-season to lose weight. As a result, Haga was stripped of his race win points at the opening round in Kyalami, South Africa, and was forced to sit out a 2-race weekend as punishment.

Noriyuki raced in MotoGP on a WCM Red Bull-sponsored Yamaha 500cc motorcycle in 2001, and on MS Racing's MotoGP Aprilia in 2003. He finished a disappointing fourteenth in the championships both years. 2002 was a winless season in WSBK, but in 2004 he returned to the series with Renegade on a Ducati and was in contention for the championship until the final round. For 2005 Haga has led Yamaha's factory team, finishing third in the championship and becoming the first rider to win a dry weather race having failed to lap fast enough to qualify for 'Superpole'.

In 2006 he is again Yamaha's leading man. After 7 rounds he lies 2nd in the championship to Troy Bayliss, despite not having won a race. At round 7 in Brno he took pole, but finished third and fourth in the two races, having been passed by Michel Fabrizio on the last lap of both. At round 8 in the UK, he won a race for the first time of the year. At Round 9 at Lausitzring in Germany Nori picked up two second places after battling for the win in both races, the first race was won by his good friend Yukio Kagayama of Alstare Corona Suzuki and the second race was won by Brit James Toseland of Winston Ten Kate Honda who had been his main rival for 2nd place in the year's championship. For the third season in a row, Haga came third.

Troy Corser joined the Yamaha team for 2007, and together they brought Yamaha the manufacturer's championship. Haga finished 2nd in the riders championship, only 2 points behind James Toseland.

In 2008 Noriyuki continued on with the Yamaha Motor Italia team for the fourth consecutive year, and a strong set of results that included a double win at Nurburgring and Vallelunga meant that he closed the year in third position behind second-placed man and team-mate Troy Corser, and Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox), crowned World Champion in 2008 for the third time. Noriyuki replaces the now retired Troy Bayliss in the Ducati Xerox Team in 2009 and is hungry for a championship title, having finished second or third in the standings for the last five years.

Clips- A walk down memory lane

some videos of memorable moments in Motorbike racing over the years

Video: the Yamaha boys (Rossi, Lorenzo, Edwards and Toseland) star in hilarious 'The Office’ spoof

Motogp catalunya 2009 and a few other famous Rossi's wins

Rossi vs. Stoner - Laguna

Seca 2008 - The Best Video

Or if you prefer a different sing...

Doohan and Crivi after race

(Australia 96)

Nicky Hayden - Assen 2006

SUPERBIKE chili vs. fogarty

Edwards vs. Bayliss WSBK

2002 with Satriani

Biaggi Haga crash - Misano

2008 WSBK Losail (Qatar)

Alex Barros MotoGP 2002

Laverty and Pitt crash SBK

Vallelunga 2008

1991 WGP suzuka Final lap

Alex Barros in Jacarepagua

Schwantz-Rainey Hockenheim

91

500cc 1991 Assen Final Lap

MotoGP. Misano 2007.

Paddock girls