SUPERBIKES: Spies se acerca a Haga

Ben Spies (Yamaha) ha podido salvar un fin de semana que se le complicó mucho cuando en la primera carrera Fabrizio (Ducati) le tiró en la cuarta vuelta cuando era líder. Pero su victoria en la segunda carrera y los resultados de un voluntarioso Haga (Ducati) que ha soportado el dolor y ha conseguido acabar décimo en la primera carrera y sexto en la segunda, colocan al piloto americano a sólo siete puntos del japonés a falta de cuatro pruebas para que acabe el campeonato.

Biaggi (Aprilia) fue el dominador absoluto de la primera carrera tras la caída de Spies (Yamaha) y el piloto romano consiguió de esta forma su cuarta victoria como piloto de superbikes y la primera con Aprilia que no ganaba una carrera de la categoría desde la última victoria conseguida por Laconi en el 2001.


Carlos Checa (Honda) acabó segundo por delante de su compañero de equipo J. Rea (Honda), del británico Byrne y su Ducati privada y de la BMW de Corser que llegó a ser líder al inicio de la carrera y que con su quinta posición demuestra la positiva evolución de la firma germana.


"La primera carrera, declaró Checa, fue muy positiva y conseguimos un buen resultado gracias al buen trabajo que hemos estado haciendo. He tenido buen feeling con la moto y mejoramos mucho con respecto a los entrenamientos".


Desgraciadamente Xaus (BMW) sufrió una espectacular caída en la que se fracturó la cabeza del fémur de la pierna derecha. Estaba previsto su traslado a Barcelona para decidir esta noche si le intervenían quirúrgicamente.


Las Kawasaki estuvieron a buen nivel y Tamada estuvo en el grupo que peleaba por la sexta posición hasta que se quedó sin neumáticos, mientras que su compañero de equipo B. Parkes (Kawasaki) acabó en la décimo segunda posición.


Fonsi Nieto (Ducati) tuvo un buen debut con la Ducati del Team DFX Corse al acabar en la décimo primera posición y Salom (Kawasaki) y D. Checa (Yamaha) se quedaron en las puertas de los puntos.


CLASIFICACIÓN PRIMERA CARRERA
1) Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2) Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 3) Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR4) Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 5) Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 6) Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 7) Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 8) Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 9) Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 10) Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 11) Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 12)Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 13) Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 14) Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 15) Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 17) Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 18) Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1


Segunda carrera: Spies no perdona


Spies (Yamaha) pudo tomarse cumplida venganza de la mala suerte que tuvo en la primera carrera y ganó la segunda pese a la presión a la que le sometió Biaggi (Aprilia) en las últimas vueltas.


Fue líder desde la tercera vuelta después de que Fabrizio (Ducati) saliera primero seguido de Corser (BMW) y Biaggi (Aprilia).


Una vez Biaggi superó a Corser (BMW), el piloto de Aprilia tuvo una bonita lucha con Fabrizio (Ducati) al que también superó y a partir de entonces trató por todos los medios de dar alcance a un inspirado Spies (Yamaha).


Rea (Honda), compañero de C. Checa en el Team Ten Kate, siempre fue cuarto y Checa quinto con más problemas que en la primera carrera.


Haga (Ducati) supo deshacerse de un grupo formado por Sykes (Yamaha), Byrne (Ducati) y Smrz (Ducati), mientras que los japoneses Tamada (Kawasaki) y Kagayama con la única Suzuki del Team Alstare en la pista se fueron por los suelos.


Nakano (Aprilia) consiguió acabar la carrera después de retirarse en la primera con problemas técnicos en su Aprilia.


Fonsi Nieto acabó en la décimo séptima posición.


"Hemos hecho unos cambios en la moto que no han funcionado, después de que en la primera carrera las cosas hayan ido más o menos bien teniendo en cuenta que adaptarse a esta moto no es fácil después de muchos años con una cuatro cilindros".


CLASIFICACIÓN SEGUNDA CARRERA
1) Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 2) Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 3) Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 4) Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 5) Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 6) Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 7) Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 8) Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 9) Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 10) Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 11) Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 12) Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 13) Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 14) Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 15) Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 17) Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 19) Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1


Supersport: Lascorz tercero


El francés F. Foret (Yamaha) ganó la carrera de supersport que estuvo dominada por su compañero de equipo Crutchlow (Yamaha), hasta que su motor se rompió a dos vueltas para el final. Lascorz (Kawasaki) acabó tercero. El piloto de Cunit pudo ganar su primera carrera con Kawasaki pero en la octava vuelta su neumático trasero se giró sobre la llanta. En la última vuelta cuando luchaba por la victoria con West (Honda), tuvo que aflojar para evitar impactar con el australiano, situación que Foret supo aprovechar. En la general debido a que Sofuoglu (Honda) acabó noveno, Lascorz (Kawasaki) se coloca a seis puntos de la tercera posición.


"Ha sido una lástima porque tenemos muchas ganas de ganar nuestra primera carrera con Kawasaki y hoy hemos estado a punto de conseguirlo. De nos ser por el problema con el neumático trasero primero y el hecho de que West haya cortado gas inesperadamente pues pensaba pasarlo en la última curva, podríamos haber ganado" declaró el piloto del Team Provec.


CLASIFICACIÓN CARRERA
1) Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 2) West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 3) Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 4) Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 5) Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 6) Morais S. (RSA) Yamaha YZF R6
7) Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 8) McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 9) Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 10) Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 11) Veneman B. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 12) Dell'Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 13) Laverty M. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 14)Vizziello G. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 15) Gunther J. (GER) Honda CBR600RR 19) Guerra Y. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6


Superstock: Forés segundo


Simeon (Ducati) ganó la carrera de Superstock 1000, la segunda desde que esta en Ducati, y el francés Berguer (Honda) se cayó en la última vuelta con lo que el piloto belga se pone líder del campeonato con una ventaja de 26 puntos con respecto a Corti. La segunda posición del piloto valenciano Javier Forés (Kawasaki) le permiten colocarse tercero en la general a 46 puntos de Berguer. S. Barragán (Honda) acabó décimo, Tutusaus (KTM) décimo séptimo y Ismael Ortega (Kawasaki) no acabó la carrera.


CLASIFICACIÓN CARRERA
1) Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 2) Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 8.022 3) Jezek O. (CZE) Honda CBR1000RR 4) Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 95) Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6) Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 7) Lundh A. (SWE) Honda CBR1000RR 8) Mahr R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 9) Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 10) Barragan S. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 11) Savary M. (SUI) Honda CBR1000RR 12) Sandi F. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 13) Lowes A. (GBR) MV Agusta F4 312 R 14) Sacchetti D. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 32.616 15) Massei F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R117) Tutusaus P. (ESP) KTM RC8 R.


En Superstock 600 el belga Lombois (Yamaha) ganó una emocionante carrera por delante de Petrucci (Yamaha), La Marra (Honda) y Guarrnoni (Yamaha), que entró a sólo tres décimas de Lombois. Nuestro único representante N. Calero (Yamaha9 acabó en la décimo tercera posición.

SUPERBIKES: Spies the ‘Superpole King' also at Brno

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) added another Superpole scalp to his crown as he took his ninth trophy of the year, one away from Doug Polen's 1991 record for Ducati, at the difficult Brno circuit in the Czech Republic. The Texan's time of 1 minute 58. 868 seconds was the quickest seen all weekend so far but was still half a second away from the circuit best lap held by Troy Bayliss. The Yamaha rider didn't have it all his own way however as he was pushed hard by Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing). The two Italians, both from Rome, will start tomorrow's two 20-lap races from second and third on the grid and look to be Spies' most serious challengers for the wins. The front row was completed by Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who hauled himself up to fourth slot after a struggle to get to the front over the first two days.

Ben Spies: "So far we've been good with the race set-up, and we found something in the second session this afternoon that made a big improvement on the race tyres. That Superpole was good as well, I had a small problem in the last session, but my time was good enough to get the job done today. I'm in a strong position and the bike is good on the tyres after a few laps, but I think it's going to be tough against Michel and Max tomorrow."


Michel Fabrizio: "Let's hope well for tomorrow, both Ben and I are the guys who are doing well at the moment and we are both up at the front for the races. It's a pity that Nori is not up with us at the front because he's still got a few problems with his shoulder, but we've been making really good progress all weekend and I am looking forward to the races tomorrow."


Max Biaggi: "We are very pleased with this result, all weekend we have been fighting in the top 3. We've been testing here like a month or so ago, and we did a lot of work on the gearbox and the set-up and you can see the result. I'm not exactly where I want to be but I can override in some parts, but I'm pleased with the result, so a big thanks to all my crew."


Jonathan Rea: "We've been struggling really all weekend. I put a soft qualifier on in the first session and in the second, and the bike wasn't quite right, then I used a race tyre in the third and was confident because I knew I could do the time on that one. It's going to be a hard race for me as well, because I've only done one fast lap on the race tyre and not too many consistent ones. The bike's coming on in leaps and bounds since the start of the year, it's a good period for me in racing and I'm enjoying life a lot!"


Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) had a good run to fifth place, ahead of the star performers of the day, Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus of the BMW Motorrad squad, who placed their S1000 RR machines in sixth and seventh positions, the German manufacturer's best qualifying performance of the year. Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike) was in eighth place ahead of Lorenzo Lanzi (DFX Ducati), while Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who had looked incisive earlier on, was unable to keep up the momentum in Superpole and finished in tenth place, while Makoto Tamada was the first Kawasaki runner in eleventh.


It was a day of suffering for points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), who got no higher than 14th due to his shoulder injury, and he lines up behind the only Suzuki on the grid, the Alstare BRUX machine of Yukio Kagayama. There was disappointment as well for home rider Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati), who crashed out in the second knock-out phase and will have to start from the third row.


Times: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'58.868; 2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'58.950; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'59.055; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.740; 5. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'59.787; 6. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 2'00.046; 7. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 2'00.096; 8. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 2'00.240; 9. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'59.730; 10. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.748; 11. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'59.873; 12. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 2'00.159; 13. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.223; 14. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 2'00.235; 15. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2'00.262; 16. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.498


World Supersport


Supersport qualifying turned into a one-man show as Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) powered to his seventh pole of the season. The British rider stopped the clocks at an incredible time of 2 minutes 02.060 seconds, the height of his weekend domination so far. The only man able to get close to Crutchlow, but nine-tenths of a second behind, was Ireland's Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), his chief rival in the title battle. The front row is completed by the increasingly competitive Kawasaki Motocard.com pairing of Joan Lascorz and Katsuaki Fujiwara in third and fourth. The third and final championship contender Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was unable to go any higher than 14th and a fourth row grid start will leave the Turk with it all to do tomorrow. Team-mate Andrew Pitt was also in difficulty, the Australian still sore after his crash yesterday and he ended up in 23rd. The two ParkinGo Triumph rider Gianluca Nannelli and Garry McCoy were in terrific form, qualifying fifth and sixth respectively and just a whisker away from the front row, while Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) and Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini) were the other row 2 qualifiers.


Times: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 2'02.060; 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 2'02.908; 3. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2'03.217; 4. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2'03.220; 5. Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 2'03.428; 6. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 2'03.662; 7. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 2'03.825; 8. Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 2'04.042


Superstock 1000


The Superstock 1000 qualifying session confirmed the results of the first half of the season, with the top 4 in the championship starting from the front row. Pole position, his fourth this season, went to points leader Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox), with a time of 2 minutes 03.188 seconds, the Belgian rider managing to hold off a last minute attack from Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda), a tenth away at the end. Third place, at six-tenths, went to Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini), just ahead of Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare). The leading position on row 2 went to Czech rider Ondrej Jezek (MS Racing Honda), with Sylvian Barrier (Garnier Yamaha) of France, Britain's Alex Lowes (Unionbike MV Agusta) and Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox) making up the other top places. Davide Giugliano (Suzuki Celani) failed to repeat his Friday form and ended up on row 3.


Times: 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 2'03.188; 2. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'03.315; 3. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'03.791; 4. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'03.831; 5. Jezek O. (CZE) Honda CBR1000RR 2'04.100; 6. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 2'04.141; 7. Lowes A. (GBR) MV Agusta F4 312 R 2'04.596; 8. Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2'04.703


Superstock 600


Vincent Lonbois (MTM Racing Yamaha) produced a real surprise in the Superstock 600 qualifying session, the Belgian, who was leading at the time, taking advantage of the rain that fell at the end to clinch the pole. The other front row positions went to Britain's Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda), currently second in the points table, Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini) and championship leader Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno). Frenchman Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha) starts off row 2, ahead of the third title contender, Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno).


Times: 1. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 2'07.470; 2. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 2'07.481; 3. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 2'07.529; 4. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 2'07.814; 5. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 2'07.872; 6. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 2'07.897; 7. Kerschbaumer S. (AUT) Yamaha YZF R6 2'08.209; 8. Karlsen F. (NOR) Yamaha YZF R6 2'08.429.

Wins for Biaggi and Spies at Brno, Haga keeps points lead

Max Biaggi (Aprilia) and Ben Spies (Yamaha) scored a win apiece in round 10 of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at Brno in front of a record 75,000 crowd. In race 1 the 25 points went to Biaggi after Spies had been wiped out by Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox), giving Aprilia its first win in its return season to WSB. The second race saw Spies take a deserved victory, after the American managed to hold off Biaggi in the final stages. Fabrizio finished third, while points leader Noriyuki Haga, still not in the best of physical condition, limited the damage and managed to hold on to his championship lead by seven points.

Race 1

Biaggi scored his first win of the season and his first win since Vallelunga 2007 in the opening race at Brno in the Czech Republic. It was also Aprilia's first win in the category since Régis Laconi's victory at Imola in 2001. Second and third went to the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda duo of Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea. Biaggi actually had a lonely run to the chequered flag after the other two favourites Spies and Fabrizio were eliminated when the Italian crashed in a fast left-hander, taking down his American rival with him. It was a great day also for the other new manufacturer to the series, BMW, who had the satisfaction of seeing Troy Corser lead the opening two laps, the Australian eventually finishing fifth to score the team's best result this season. Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) got another good result for the Italian team in sixth. It wasn't all good news for BMW however as Ruben Xaus crashed out on the opening lap, fracturing the femur bone in his right leg in the process. Sixth place went to Czech rider Jakub Smrz (Guandakini Ducati), who recovered well to score a good result in front of his home crowd. Seventh was Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) and eighth Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), who ran a defensive race to try and score as many points as possible. Makoto Tamada took home a good result for Kawasaki, the Japanese rider finishing in tenth place.


Max Biaggi: "It's great! What can I say! When I crossed the start-finish I was so happy to be winning this race and I had so many flashbacks of Brno, I can feel that it is one of my favourite circuits. Of course I don't want to take anything away from Spies and Fabrizio, they were both very fast, but I remember Barry Sheene used to say ‘To finish first, first you have to finish' and this is a part of the deal. I put my head down and did not make any mistake, so a big thanks to all my crew, Aprilia and in particular Gigi Dall'Igna, the ‘papa' of our bike!."


Carlos Checa: "It's a good result for the team to get two riders on the podium and I think we did a very good job. At a certain point I thought maybe I could catch Max, but in the end I had to preserve my tyres as the right side in particular was not so good, and I could see there was no way. I settled for second as I could see that Johnny was 4 seconds behind."


Jonathan Rea: "Well, in Superpole we had to ride through the problems and get a good result and we did the same here in the race, so I feel quite fortunate to get a podium. We didn't quite have the pace of Max , but my team have done a really good job. I really love this place, but I can't understand why I had a slow start to the weekend."


Results 1. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 40'18.306 (160,863 kph); 2. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 3.631; 3. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 9.948; 4. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 12.952; 5. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 14.599; 6. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 19.359; 7. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 19.680;8. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 20.731; 9. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 21.923; 10. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 27.807; 11. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 35.263; 12. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 36.535; 13. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 38.586; 14. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 40.061; 15. Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 40.280; 16. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 40.641


Race 2


Spies powered into the lead shortly after the start to head towards his eleventh win of the season. It wasn't easy however as the Texan had to keep Biaggi at bay, and the Italian took second at the end. Third went to Fabrizio, who lost contact with the leading pair in the last few laps. Despite his win, Spies was unable to overtake Haga at the top of the table. The Japanese rider ran a heroic second race to finish in sixth place, holding off a trio of Tom Sykes (Yamaha), Byrne and Smrz in the final stages. Just off the podium were the Ten Kate pairing of Jonathan Rea and Carlos Checa, their positions inverted from race 1. Once again Corser was up at the front in the early stages, but this time the Australian finished in tenth.


Ben Spies: "It was a tough race, Fabrizio was there and I had to push and make good lap times. When I saw Max was there, he arrived quite quick and I had to start braking very late and stopping almost in the middle of the corner to get good drive so he couldn't come by me. The first race obviously wasn't so good but we rallied together for the second race. That pass attempt was not the best move in the world, but that's how racing goes sometimes. A big thanks also to the Clinica Mobile guys because I wasn't feeling so good this weekend."


Max Biaggi: "It's a great result, I'm quite pleased, it's not a victory but we proved that we have a lot of muscle and could fight with Fabrizio and Spies all the time. I stopped behind Fabrizio for quite a time, while Spies managed to pull away. In the end I passed him and went to catch Spies. I tried to brake very late, but I didn't want to take him out like it was in the first race. We got a good result and it was a very good weekend here for Aprilia."


Michel Fabrizio: "It was really difficult to fight against Aprilia and Yamaha today. The only problem we had was coming out of the turns where I never quite managed to stay behind first Ben and then Max, but we should be happy with this third place and now we must look ahead."


Results 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 40'15.420 (161,055 kph); 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 0.213; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 0.657; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 8.311; 5. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 8.915; 6. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 21.175; 7. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 21.384; 8. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 21.599; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 21.726; 10. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 25.180; 11. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 25.612; 12. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 25.622; 13. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 26.246; 14. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 31.098; 15. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 32.706; 16. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 33.173


Points (after 10 of 14 rounds): 1. Haga 326; 2. Spies 319; 3. Fabrizio 273; 4. Rea 206; 5. Biaggi 200; 6. Haslam 180; 7. Sykes 150; 8. Checa 145; 9. Byrne 134; 10. Smrz 132. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 412; 2. Yamaha 362; 3. Honda 306; 4. Aprilia 207; 5. Suzuki 133; 6. BMW 87; 7. Kawasaki 53


World Supersport


There was a sensational end to the Supersport race as Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) had to retire with a mechanical problem two laps from the flag as he was heading for another dominant victory, thus re-opening the title battle. His closest rival Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) had been struggling all weekend and could only finish fifth. The win, after the four-way battle for second turned into the fight for first, went to his team-mate Fabien Foret, who returned to the top slot for the first time since last year, the Frenchman thus wiping out all memories of his nasty crash here on this track twelve months ago. In the sprint finish, the runner-up slot went to Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda), who managed to get the better of the two increasingly competitive Kawasakis of Joan Lascorz and Katsuaki Fujiwara. South African Sheridan Morais put in a good run for sixth place, ahead of Italian Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Honda) and Garry Mc Coy (ParkinGo Triumph), while the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team again had a disappointing day, their two champions Kenan Sofuoglu and Andrew Pitt only finishing ninth and tenth respectively.


Results 1. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 37'14.367 (156,695 kph); 2. West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 0.148; 3. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 0.289; 4. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 0.400; 5. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 6.823; 6. Morais S. (RSA) Yamaha YZF R6 14.896; 7. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 15.092; 8. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 15.634


Points (after 10 of 14 rounds): 1. Crutchlow 185; 2. Laverty 168; 3. Sofuoglu 128; 4. Lascorz 122; 5. West 95; 6. Foret 88; 7. Pitt 85; 8. Mccoy 63; 9. Aitchison 61; 10. Fujiwara 52. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 211 2. Yamaha 210 3. Kawasaki 133; 4. Triumph 77; 5. Suzuki 30


Superstock 1000


The Superstock 1000 FIM Cup round produced a real thriller. After leading for almost the entire race, Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda) crashed two turns from the chequered flag, throwing away a certain victory. The man who raised the winners' champagne was Belgium's Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox), who took his second win in a row and has now increased his overall points lead to 26 over Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare). The Italian could only finish sixth, because of vibration problems on his Suzuki right from the start. Second place went to Spain's Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini), who held off the Czech rider Ondrej Jezek (MS Racing Honda) in the final stages. In fourth place finished Frenchman Sylvain Barrier (Garnier Yamaha) ahead of Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox).


Results : 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 24'52.839 (156,353 kph); 2. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 8.022; 3. Jezek O. (CZE) Honda CBR1000RR 8.079; 4. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 9.607; 5. Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 9.666; 6. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 9.922; 7. Lundh A. (SWE) Honda CBR1000RR 18.270; 8. Mähr R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 19.494


Points (after 6 of 10 rounds): 1. Simeon 130; 2. Corti 104; 3. Fores 84; 4. Berger 82; 5. Barrier 67; 6. Beretta 56; 7. Jezek 48: 8. Baz 33; 9. Giuliano 25; 10. Savary 23. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 130; 2. Honda 108: 3. Suzuki 104; 4. Kawasaki 84, 5. Yamaha 75; 6. MV Augusta 21; 7. Aprilia 12


Superstock 600


The outcome of the Superstock 600 race was decided on the last lap, with a seven-rider sprint to the chequered flag. In the end the win went to Belgium's Vincent Lonbois (MTM Racing Yamaha), who held off points leader Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno). With second place the young Italian confirms his leadership in a hard-fought championship battle that sees five riders separated at the top by 22 points. Third place went to Italian Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini), with France's Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha), Norway's Fredrik Carlsen (VD Heyden Yamaha), Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) of Britain and Italy's Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno) making up the top 7.


Results 1. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 19'19.920 (150,922 kph); 2. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 0.191; 3. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 0.247; 4. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 0.315; 5. Karlsen F. (NOR) Yamaha YZF R6 1.087; 6. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1.207; 7. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1.262; 8. Kerschbaumer S. (AUT) Yamaha YZF R6 5.86


Points (after 6 of 10 rounds): 1. Petrucci 102; 2. Lonbois 89; 3. Rea 88: 4. Guarnoni 83; 5. Bussolotti 80; 6. La Marra 55; 7. Kerschbaumer 51; 8. Guittet 47; 9. Litjens 38; 10. Chmielewki 30

SBK-07: Superbike World Championship

Within the motorsport world, motorbikes don't tend to have the best reputation. Dismissed as 'crotch rockets' by car enthusiasts and 'death-traps' by mothers everywhere, motorbikes are seen as potentially lethal speed machines that can accelerate faster than the Earth travelling round the Sun. Of course, in real-life it's easy to see why motorbikes are best left to the reckless. However, in videogames their unrelenting bursts of speed make them perfect racing fodder.

So it was with high expectations that we approached SBK-07: Superbike World Championship, particularly as it's being developed by biking veteran Milestone, who previously made Superbike games for Electronic Arts. SBK-07 is the official game of the World Superbike Championships 2007 and, as such, it features official riders from the championships, courses from across the globe and licensed motorbikes. However, don't go confusing Superbikes with MotoGP - the two are very different sports. The bikes in SBK-07 are actually modified versions of those available to buy in shops, unlike MotoGP, which features specially built machines.

There are plenty of modified machines to unlock in SBK-07, by working your way through the game's different modes - including standard time trails and quick races. However, if you're a Superbike aficionado, your first pit stop is likely to be the Championship mode, which takes you through a season of Superbike action. This mode gives you a full Superbike experience, including pre-race warm-up matches, qualifying sessions and, of course, the actual races. These are particularly impressive, with 22 bikers all gunning for the top spot, and working your way through the pack is something that requires skill and patience.

If you fancy some quick fix action, however, you're best off diving into the Challenge mode. Here you're given tasks such as going through a checkpoint at a certain speed or only using your brakes a certain amount of times, much like Gran Turismo's licence tests. If you pass the challenge, you're rewarded with one of game's many unlockables, including those new Superbikes, pictures of pretty girls or staff ghosts for the time trials.

Challenge mode is definitely one of those 'just one more go' aspects of SBK-07, thanks to the fact you're awarded different grades for your endeavours, indicating how many unlockables you receive. That, and the fact it's genuinely very, very hard. That said, it's a great way to learn advanced driving techniques - in the absence of a true tutorial - because each challenge requires full motorbike mastery.

AMA American Superbike race one results Auto Club Speedway

We cover breaking motorcycle racing news from around the world. This coverage includes MotoGP, World Superbike (WSBK), AMA American Superbike (SBK), AMA Daytona SportBike, Supersport, AMA Supercross, AMA Motocross and other interesting motorcycle racing news. When is comes to racing results, we never publish race results or class standings in our headlines or urls. This gives our visitors a chance to decide whether they want to wait to first see the TV broadcast or not. Please click through to see the results when you are ready!

Mat Mladin went a perfect two-for-two in 2009 with a win in Saturday's AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited race while young American-rider Danny Eslick gave Buell its first major worldwide motorcycle road racing victory in the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL race. The co-feature events were the opening rounds of this weekend's Suzuki AMA Pro Superbike Challenge double header at Auto Club Speedway.

Mladin (No. 7 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) started the weekend by winning his second-straight pole in Friday's single-bike Superpole session but was out gunned at the start by teammate Tommy Hayden (No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000). The Yoshimura duo would go on to stage a thrilling race-long battle that featured frequent side-by-side action, three official lead changes and numerous other lead swaps within race laps.

The first came when Hayden made a great start from the third spot on the front row and led the first lap. Mladin was quick to pounce, however, and passed Hayden for the lead through the Auto Club Speedway tri-oval on Lap 2. Hayden took the lead again on Lap 9 and then waged an all-out war for the top spot with his teammate in the race's closing laps. Mladin took the lead with two laps to go, Hayden moved back to the front on the final lap but Mladin made the winning move in Turn 10 with the checkered flag in sight.

"It was just an out-braking pass down there for the lead," Mladin said. "I was strong down there all weekend. I was within three or four bike lengths of Tommy on the back straight, so I just got in there deep. Tommy let it roll a little bit, so I let it roll and it got us the lead. It was a good race. If there is anybody up here in this field that I would like to see win one it is Tommy, but I am not going to give him one, I am going to push him hard."

Hayden had one of the best American Superbike races of his career and joins Mladin as the only riders who have hit the top-three podium in the year's opening races at Daytona and Auto Club.

"I had a pretty good pace, good rhythm and the laps were pretty consistent but Mat wasn't going anywhere," Hayden said. "I was plus zero the whole way. I tried to get through the lappers clean and I felt that I struggled a little bit with those, I could have been a little more aggressive and it would have helped me out. Overall it was a good race and a good start to the season. It's a little disappointing to be that close but it's where I wanted to be at this part of the year, to be close to Mat, see what he does and try to learn from him and at least challenge for victories. I feel like I've made that step and now I just have to work on closing them out."

Third-place went to No. 54 National Guard/Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 rider Geoff May who shook off a disappointing Daytona opener to hit the podium in California.

"Daytona was disappointing, I'm not going to sugarcoat it," May said. "We sat down and went over everything, figured out what went wrong and worked real hard to figure it out. We found some stuff in the suspension that was wrong, there were some mistakes made that won't happen again and you've seen the results of it. We've got the bikes where Aaron (Yates) and I are both comfortable now and we're back towards the front of the field."

Yoshimura's third rider Blake Young (No. 79 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) finished fourth to back up his strong fifth-place finish at Daytona. Jake Holden (No. 100 Corona Extra Honda CBR1000RR) hit the top five in a great return to the Corona team in replacement of injured rider Neil Hodgson.

Holden had a race-long battle with factory Yamaha teammates Josh Hayes and Ben Bostrom, who finished sixth and seventh, respectively. David Anthony (No. 25 Aussie Dave Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000), Taylor Knapp (No. 44 Taylor Knapp Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000) and Aaron Gobert (No. 59 Holden Racing Honda CBR1000RR) all had solid runs to complete the top 10.

The scheduled 21-lap race was shortened by two laps after a red-flag incident just after the initial race start. Larry Pegram (No. 72 Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R) started sixth and was in thick of the lead pack when he had a highside incident at Turn 3. The race was stopped as safety crews tended to Pegram, who has been cleared to race tomorrow, and the race was later restarted for 19 laps.

The only other major incident came when Aaron Yates (No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) lowsided while running third. Yates was uninjured and rode his bike back to the pits and ultimately recovered to finish 15th.

Auto Club Speedway race two for AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited is Sunday at 4 p.m. local time.

SUPERBIKES: Small set-up changes work out for Spies

Ben Spies was grateful for the chance to test at Imola, as it was not only a new circuit for him, but one that proved to be very like the circuit he has found the toughest so far in his rookie year, Kyalami. His crew-chief, Tom Houseworth, confirmed that the testing plan for Spies was completed on schedule, and that some initial concerns about the track were eradicated at this test.

"When Ben got off the bike after the first few laps he said it reminded him of Kyalami, but once we got it tuned a bit it didn't seem quite that bad," said Houseworth. "But there still seem to be some good bumps in some areas. We learned a bit from Kyalami also, so maybe we were a little better here than we were in Kyalami. We got caught with our pants down a little bit even though we tested there, for some reason. I think we were pretty good at Imola."

The most obvious change on Spies' machine at the test was a new riding position, as Houseworth explained. "We are trying to get Ben's riding position a little more towards the back on the brakes, because he is coming a little forward. We went a little too far, so if we split the difference we should be all right. It was about 20mm or so. It's just those little things that make the difference. We worked through some Öhlins components and a couple of other things we wanted to look at."

SUPERBIKES: Hopkins runs well for Stiggy Racing Honda at Imola

Following his eighth place at Donington Park, John Hopkins' rehabilitation continued during last week's two-day official WSB test at Imola, but the Stiggy Racing Honda man again had to cut proceedings short after having a near-crash earlier in the test. The Anglo-American, who at that point had recorded the sixth fastest time of 1'49.443s, had to sit out the final session and seek medical advice, but an examination at the circuit revealed no further damage had been done to his previously injured hip bone. WorldSBK.com caught up with John Hopkins at Imola to see how he was approaching his difficult return to racing.

So have you had any discomfort over the past couple of days?

"I actually had a big moment midday yesterday when I was following Fabrizio, lost the rear, the thing came back and just pumped on me really hard. It caused quite a bit of pain in my hip, so this morning it was painful. There was a little bit of swelling so we decided to go and get some X-rays. It shows that the bone looks pretty clear like it's really fragile at the moment so we've got to get a bunch of tests from the specialists. The right side looks completely solid, then the left side is completely see-through."

Are you happy with your performance at Imola?

"Yes, especially this morning. I always go better on a track once I sleep on it. Imola is all right, reminds me of Road Atlanta, a lot of uphill downhill and a real technical track, quite a few chicanes. I enjoy it. The chicane is all right, but it's a bit of an awkward turn."

The next race is at Brno, a track you are familiar with....

"Yes, I got my best ever result in MotoGP, a second place, plus we tested there last week and everything went well so can't wait to get there and finally be 100% fit. I'm getting along well with the bike now, we've got a good set up and good feeling, and I think we can definitely improve on our eighth place at Donington, that's for sure."

So what sort of result would you be happy with from here until the end of the season?

"Every rider wants to win but reasonably I think we should just concentrate on getting ourselves on the podium first, race a little bit more with Leon and I think we can achieve that as the season goes on."

SUPERBIKES: Haga ready for big comeback

After some worrying times after his big crash at the Donington round last month, Noriyuki Haga returns to action at Brno ready to defend his championship lead. The Japanese star was cleared of initial fears that he had injured his vertebrae in the race two fall in England, and has now had almost a month to heal after suffering arm and shoulder fractures.

Speaking of his chances in the upcoming races in the Czech Republic, he said, "After the crash at Donington I've been doing a lot of physiotherapy in order to get back into shape as quickly as possible and in time for Brno. It's a pity I couldn't take part in the Imola testing as that would have been very useful but it was just too soon and it's more important to be fit to race. I'm not sure that my arm and shoulder will be 100% by the weekend but I'm confident I'll be ready for the races and will fight to take as many points as possible."

Haga needs all the points he can muster as Ben Spies is now only 14 points behind him in the championship chase.

SUPERBIKES: Biaggi and Aprilia advantaged by Brno tests

Aprilia's new RSV4 machine should not be at much of a disadvantage against its rivals on the Czech track, according to Italian Max Biaggi, who returns to a circuit where he has won many times in his career. During private testing at Brno, Aprilia's designated test-track, on July 1 and 2, riders and team engineers managed to establish a good base setting with which to begin the Brno weekend, as well as testing new components for the development of the four-cylinder machine.

Brno is a magic track for Biaggi, who has won eight times there, 4 in 250, 3 in 500/MotoGP and once in SBK in 2007 in race 2, while last year he picked up a fourth and a third place. In the tests, which Biaggi tackled with a cracked bone in his right foot from Donington, he recorded a best time of 2'00.75 over 122 laps.

Shinya Nakano, who ran a total of 135 laps in testing with a best time of 2'00"78, won at this circuit in 2000 in 250 GP, while last year in MotoGP he finished in fourth place in his first race on a factory Honda.

"We come from an excellent second place in Britain, where the team did a great job on the bike" declared Biaggi. "We continued the work at Brno a few days later in two days of testing during which we tested several components for the development of the RSV4 and we found a good starting base for the race. In this way we are at less of a disadvantage against our rivals. I really like this track, for me it's the best in absolute, I've always had excellent results and it adapts itself well to the characteristics of our bike. We've done a lot of work in the last few weeks and I think we can get some good results".

SUPERBIKES: Kagayama goes solo for Suzuki this weekend

After the very unfortunate injury to Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Max Neukirchner in his comeback at the Imola tests last week, Yukio Kagayama will be the teams sole rider in Brno this coming weekend. Max suffered damage to four of his vertebra when he fell in Imola and faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines as he recovers from his injuries. With Brno so soon after Maxs crash, the team have decided not to replace him this weekend, preferring to consider their future plans in a calm and considered manner, especially as there is a five week break after this weekend.

"I feel very sorry for Max. It is a great pity that he hurt himself in the first time back on the racebike. This season has not been a lucky one for our team and also we have not found it so easy getting the bike to where we would like it. The bike seems very sensitive and finding a good base set-up at every track has been difficult sometimes. We tried many things in our recent tests, but I do not think we found a good solution or direction. Brno circuit is a flowing track, so I am hoping that it will suit our K9 GSX R1000 better. I like the track and I will fight my hardest for the best possible results - as usual."