Portimao World Superbike: Sunday (updated regularly)

NEWEST AT TOP

Alstare Suzuki

New Alstare Suzuki rider Sylvain Guintoli raced to 10th place in the second race at today’s World Superbike 14th round at Portimao in Portugal after failing to finish the opening leg.

Both he and team mate Yukio Kagayama were forced to pull out of race one due to technical issues and in Kagayama’s case, being hit from behind, before both bounced back to take 10th and 11th places respectively in the second leg.

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) had a 15-point point lead over Ben Spies (Yamaha) before today’s title showdown, but that evaporated when he crashed out after just six laps of the first race. Spies won the race, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) second and Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third, giving Spies a 15 point lead going into the final race of the year. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) won the second race, with Haga second and Rea third, but Spies took fifth place to take the title by just six points.

Sylvain Guintoli - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 10th:

“Generally, this has been a great learning experience and I am very happy how it has all gone. The team and I gelled right from the start and we have worked together very well this weekend and that’s good news for the future. I had a technical problem in race one and had to pull out of the race. So, I was so happy to finish race two, be ahead of Yukio and get a top-10 result. This series is tough for sure, but I am really looking forward to the challenge and fighting all these guys. This weekend was no pressure for me and I enjoyed myself on this track. I am looking forward to the tests here on Tuesday and Wednesday and getting to understand the bike more and more. ”

Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 11th:

“I am angry about my last race with this great team because it did not go as I wanted. On the first lap of the first race I was hit from behind by Camier and that caused me to crash. He must have missed his braking point by a long way, but the really bad thing is that he kept upright and carried on to finish the race, whereas I was down in the gravel. That was not a good start to the day and I came back to the pits feeling very angry. After the second race, he came to see me and he apologised for hitting me, so then I did not feel so bad.
My bike was too badly damaged to use in race two, so I had to use my spare bike instead. This bike had a different set-up and was more aggressive to ride, so it was not easy to push it hard. I think this bike had a different engine character and it was just not as rideable as my number one bike. I did my best, but I ended 11th and that did not make me feel happy.

“I am sad because this is my last race with the team and we have had many good times together, especially in my first year with them in 2005. Some mechanics have changed from my team to my team mate’s team, but most of the mechanics have worked with me at some stage and that makes it feel like a big family. I want to thank Francis Batta, Patricia, the whole team and everybody concerned for all their hard work and support during these five years. I will miss them all, but maybe I will get a wild card ride in England next year and see everybody again. Once again, many thanks to everybody.”

WSB Results:

Race 1: 1 Spies (USA-Yamaha), 2 Rea (GBR-Honda), 3 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia), 4 Byrne (GBR-Ducati), 5 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati), 6 Camier (GBR-Aprilia). Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare) DNF. Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare) DNF.

Race 2: 1 Fabrizio, 2 Haga (JPN-Ducati), 3 Rea, 4 Byrne, 5 Spies, 6 Biaggi. 10 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare). 11 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare).

Final WSB Championship points: 1 Spies 462, 2 Haga 456, 3 Fabrizio 382, 4 Biaggi 319, 5 Rea 315, 6 Haslam 241, 12 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare) 128, 33 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare) 6.

SUPERSTOCK 1000:

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Claudio Corti finished the last race of this year’s Superstock 1000 FIM Cup in second place to end runner-up in the Championship.

His nemesis today, as it has been for most of the season, was Xavi Simeon (Ducati): Corti led four laps of the 12-lap race, but when Simeon went past on lap 10, Corti could not respond. Simeon opened out a bit of a gap and took the chequered flag by three-and-a-half seconds. He was a comfortable second, over four seconds ahead of Javi Fores (Kawasaki) in third.

Claudio Corti - 2nd:

“The bike was much better today and everything worked pretty well. We changed the rear shock and raised the back end a bit and that gave me more grip than yesterday and I had a much better race because of it. My problem today was once again in the final split, where Simeon could get better drive in the fast corners. In the end, I am happy to finish runner-up in the Championship, but with a bit more luck, who knows, it could’ve been first. I would like to thank all my team and also Francis Batta for all the support this season.”

Superstock Results: 1 Simeon (BEL-Ducati), 2 Claudio Corti (ITA-Suzuki Alstare), 3 Fores (ESP-Kawasaki), 4 Mahr (AUT-Suzuki), 5 Berger (FRA-Honda), 6 Baz (FRA-Yamaha).

Final points standings: 1 Simeon 225, 2 Claudio Corti (ITA-Suzuki Alstare) 168, 3 Berger 138, 4 Fores 132, 5 Barrier 92, 6 Beretta 85.

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Yamaha

Ben Spies and Yamaha made history today, claiming the first ever Word Superbike title for the Yamaha World Superbike Team. In yet another Ben Spies Masterclass of riding, The American rookie sensation took a race win and a well executed fifth place finish to lift the title for Yamaha for the first time. Race one saw a textbook performance from Spies, taking the holeshot on the first corner and leading from the first lap. Perfectly executed lines and smooth riding saw him cross the line nearly two seconds ahead of a determined Biaggi who had stalked him for the entire race. Championship rival Noriyuki Haga crashed out six laps into the race, leaving Spies some breathing room for race two.

With the extra points behind him and less pressure for an outright race win Spies kept himself in check for race two, monitoring Haga’s position and keeping a steady race pace as he counted the laps down to victory. The American let a couple of riders passed then tucked in behind Biaggi for a number of laps. After the Italian rider ran wide a couple of times, Spies turned on some extra speed to pass him and brought his championship winning Yamaha R1 home in fifth place to take victory.

Spies can now claim 14 Superbike race wins and 11 pole position race starts in his rookie year, breaking all records since the championship began. He leads the standings with 462 points, six clear of rival Haga.

Yamaha World Superbike rider Tom Sykes unfortunately missed out on the last two races of the 2009 Championship. The British rider continues to struggle with an injury sustained to the Labrum in the shoulder socket following a collision with Carlos Checa at the previous round in Magny Cours. Sykes gave 100% effort in the early riding sessions of the weekend but struggled to cope with the very physical Portimao circuit. The Yamaha Superbike Team expressed disappointed not to have been able to end their one year relationship with Tom on a high note, but supported his decision not to ride, putting riders safety and health first.

Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (1st, 5th)
” I’ve got to thank Yamaha for giving me the bike I need to win. We had a really good first race, in the second we did what we had to do to win. It was quite difficult to keep it in check as the pace was pretty fast, I saw I had a couple of people behind me and I knew that if Nori won I had to be in sixth and that’s where I was so I tried to get a bit of a gap on them and stay out of trouble. Max came through the inside of me and ran off a couple of times which really freaked me out so I went to get past him and then settled in for some nice fast laps to the end. It’s been a spectacular day and I can’t thank those people enough that have been behind me. It’s been incredible to do it for Yamaha, and especially in my first year here. I don’t think I really realize what’s happening right now but I’m sure it’s going to hit me in a couple of days!”

Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team
“We came here this weekend aware of the injury but still looking to give it everything and end the season on a high. Unfortunately further x-rays yesterday at the Clinica Mobile revealed a potential crack in the bone which riding is aggravating further. I’m not able to ride to my best ability so unfortunately for my health needed to sit out the last two races. I’m very disappointed for the team as I wanted to repay them for the hard work they have put in for me all year.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“I feel great! This is the first time I’ve had this victory feeling. I was so nervous for this whole weekend. Ben showed us that the speed he had was ok but I know Nori very well and Ducati as well so I was always worried that something was going to come. Fortunately we finished very well. I want to thank everyone, not just the people here in the team and Yamaha but the people at home, mine and the team’s families, they give us a lot of support and are patient, I think it is hard for them to so thank you to my wife!”

Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Racing Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe
“A fantastic day for Yamaha! Today was the crown of a year’s hard work for Ben and the team. From the first moment we started to work with Ben it was clear he was something special. He did an amazing job in his rookie season, not knowing many of the circuits in Europe. This victory is also very well deserved for the team who have given 100%. I know how hard we have all been trying and coming close for such a long time. This championship success is a clear testimonial of the competitiveness of the new R1 and a validation of Yamaha’s vision of production bike development and so is also shared with the engineers in Japan.”

Circuit Length: 4692
Fastest Lap Ever: 1′42.412 (Ben Spies, 25/10/2009)
Last Years Winner: Troy Bayliss
2009 WSB Portugal - Portimão 25/10/2009
Race 1
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 38′15.390
2 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0′01.697
3 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0′02.113
4 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0′02.757
5 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0′14.753
6 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0′20.044
7 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0′25.634
8 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 0′31.104
9 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 0′36.689
10 Matteo Baiocco Kawasaki ITA 0′39.331
11 Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 0′41.827
12 Makoto Tamada Kawasaki JPN 0′41.882
13 David Salom Kawasaki ESP 0′54.967
14 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1′38.533

Race 2
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 38′19.654
2 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0′01.195
3 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0′01.494
4 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0′05.553
5 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 0′05.842
6 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0′07.374
7 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0′09.658
8 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0′10.434
9 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0′17.010
10 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0′24.509
11 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0′27.195
12 Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 0′34.825
13 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 0′35.135
14 Luca Scassa Kawasaki ITA 1′01.842
15 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1′09.782

Best Lap
Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 1′43.529

Rider Standings 25/10/2009
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 462
2. Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 456
3. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 382
4. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 319
5. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 315
6. Leon Haslam Honda GBR 241
7. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 209
8. Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 192
9. Tom Sykes Yamaha GBR 176
10. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 169
11. Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 141
12. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 128
13. Troy Corser BMW AUS 96
14. Shinya Nakano Aprilia JPN 86
15. Regis Laconi Ducati FRA 77
31. James Ellison Yamaha GBR 8
37. David Checa Yamaha ESP 4

Manufacturer Standings 25/10/2009
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Ducati 572
2. Yamaha 505
3. Honda 431
4. Aprilia 329
5. Suzuki 173
6. BMW 141
7. Kawasaki 79

RACE REPORT 25/10/2009
Crutchlow takes control to deliver the World Supersport title for Yamaha

Cal Crutchlow was on incredible form at Portimao today, displaying an intelligent level of riding belying his age as he set himself a comfortable race pace to maintain his points advantage over rival Laverty and ultimately take the well deserved World Supersport title. Crutchlow started well and settled into a fourth position spot behind Lascorz until the third lap when the Spanish rider crashed out, promoting him to third. He maintained his position until lap seven where he let Gary McCoy through at the end of the start finish straight and dropped back into fourth again. Crutchlow then tucked in behind McCoy and followed him home to the finish line for victory and the title of World Champions for himself and the Yamaha World Supersport Team.

Crutchlow’s team mate Fabien Foret dropped one place off the start line to eighth as the race got underway, and then spent the duration chasing down seventh placed rider Aitchison for the next spot. As the pace continued he was unable to catch him but was fast enough to keep his spot, crossing the line in eighth position. Foret takes eight points from the race, and so will keep his fifth place in the 2009 World Supersport Championship.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (4th)
“Fourth is the worst finish I’ve had this year! Obviously I’ve had a couple of DNFs but when I’ve finished fourth has been the worst. I just wanted to bring it home. I didn’t need to push Eugene. He’s been riding really well all weekend and keeping the pressure on me. I didn’t want to get into any battles, I followed Kenan at the start but his pace was just too fast so I let him go. I let Gary past then settled in behind him and let him bring me home for the race so thank to him. It’s been a tough season and all credit to Yamaha they’ve done a fantastic job, I’m elated! I want to thank the team and all my sponsors for their support, and my family, my dad and my mum and Lucy my girlfriend who has put up with me!”

Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (8th)
“it was a tough one today. I really wanted to be a bit closer to the front of the grid but I wasn’t so happy with the feeling in the front end in qualifying. We made some improvements for the race but it still wasn’t perfect so I just kept my head down and did the best I could to keep a consistent pace. I want to say a big thank you to the team for all their support this year, and congratulations to Cal for winning the title.”

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager
“We are delighted with the results from today, I think everybody at Yamaha must be happy with Valentino and Ben and Cal all winning. Of course for me I’m especially happy for Cal and our team for winning the championship. We rode a really tactical race I have to say and he brought it home and did the job really well, I think he was the fastest guy out there the whole season. I want to thank the team who have worked so hard to make this possible for him as well. Fabien worked hard today despite not having 100% confidence with the feeling of his bike and was consistent throughout to the finish.”

Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Racing Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe
“It’s great to see a rider like Cal progressing in his career with Yamaha, from his early success with the R6 cup to World Supersport Champion today. He has shown dominating speed on so many occasions this season and today showed his maturity to grab the title. The R6 as a production bike continues to build on its racing heritage as confirmed today here in Portimao. The team did a super job and it is with mixed feelings that we have not yet been able to finalize our plans for 2010 with them.”

Circuit Length: 4692
Fastest Lap Ever: 1′44.836 (Eugene Laverty, 25/10/2009)
Last Years Winner: Kenan Sofuoglu
2009 WSS Portugal - Portimão 25/10/2009

Race 1
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Eugene Laverty Honda GBR 35′17.044
2 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0′03.443
3 Garry McCoy Triumph AUS 0′13.874
4 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 0′15.144
5 Mark Aitchison Honda AUS 0′16.608
6 Michele Pirro Yamaha ITA 0′20.008
7 Chaz Davies Triumph GBR 0′22.007
8 Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 0′22.034
9 Barry Veneman Honda NED 0′23.031
10 Miguel Praia Honda POR 0′24.002
11 Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 0′31.794
12 Martin Cardenas Honda COL 0′31.811
13 Katsuaki Fujiwara Kawasaki JPN 0′32.218
14 Michael Laverty Honda GBR 0′33.196
15 Kev Coghlan Yamaha GBR 1′02.386
16 Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha IDN 1′06.401
18 Yannick Guerra Yamaha ESP 1′18.977

Best Lap
Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 1′45.186

Rider Standings 25/10/2009
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 243
2. Eugene Laverty Honda GBR 236
3. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 189
4. Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 163
5. Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 123
6. Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 119
7. Anthony West Honda AUS 117
8. Garry McCoy Triumph AUS 98
9. Mark Aitchison Honda AUS 93
10. Katsuaki Fujiwara Kawasaki JPN 73
11. Massimo Roccoli Honda ITA 70
12. Michele Pirro Yamaha ITA 70
13. Barry Veneman Honda NED 58
14. Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 45
15. Miguel Praia Honda POR 40
22. Sheridan Morais Yamaha RSA 10
24. Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha IDN 8
26. Kev Coghlan Yamaha GBR 6
27. Franco Battaini Yamaha ITA 5
34. Hudson Kennaugh Yamaha RSA 2
35. Yannick Guerra Yamaha ESP 1

Manufacturer Standings 25/10/2009
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Honda 297
2. Yamaha 284
3. Kawasaki 186
4. Triumph 114
5. Suzuki 30

*************************

World Superbike

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) won the first race and then controlled the situation in race 2 to take his and Yamaha’s first ever World Superbike Championship title in front of an 86,000 crowd in the final round of the series at Portimao. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), points leader going into the decider, crashed out in race 1, making things easier for the Texan, who was fifth in the second race. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) took the win in race 2, while Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) were the other podium finishers.

Race 1

Race 1 was dominated from start to finish by Spies, who took his fourteenth win of the season and overhauled Haga in the title chase. The Texan, who rocketed away from the line, comfortably held off any attempts at an attack from Biaggi, then upped his pace to go on to take a solitary chequered flag. With this result Spies now has a 15-point advantage over Haga, who lost the front and crashed on lap 7 while making up time in fifth place. The runner-up slot went to Rea, who got the better of Biaggi after a terrific duel. The best Ducati rider to the line in fourth place was Shane Byrne, in one of his best races of the year, while fifth went to Michel Fabrizio (Ducati), who compromised his race with a bad start. Leon Camier had a good run to sixth for Aprilia, while Ruben Xaus finished eighth on the first BMW. Both Suzukis failed to finish, Yukio Kagayama crashing out and Sylvain Guintoli was forced to retire.

Ben Spies: “It was actually a really tough race, at first I was just going for the win, getting to the front and not worrying about anything. Then when Haga was out I had to win to get as many points as possible for race 2. Once you have a gap, you don’t want to be stupid and throw it all away.”

Jonathan Rea: “It took a little bit of time for my tyres to get right in but when they did they were good until the end. The team and the bike have been working really good and I can’t thank them enough. It’s the first time I’ve ever had such a result in race 1 and I’m sure in race 2 I’ll be strong again.”

Max Biaggi: “I didn’t maybe have the chance to set up the bike the way I want and I had a few small problems, and then sometimes I made a few mistakes and this lost me some tenths. But I’m pleased with the result, even though I’m so sore from the accident yesterday and I didn’t think I could do the whole distance.”

Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 38′15.390 (158,442 kph); 2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1.697; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2.113; 4. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 2.757; 5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 14.753; 6. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 20.044; 7. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 25.634; 8. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 31.104

Race 2

Spies monitored Haga all the way in race 2 to take the fifth place that was enough to give him the 2009 title. The American only had to finish sixth, but he preferred to shy away from any direct confrontation and together with Haga’s second place, the result gave him the title by six points. Fabrizio scored his third win of the season after a terrific scrap with Rea, who took the final podium slot, while Shane Byrne was again a protagonist of the race and finished fourth. Biaggi looked spectacular on the track, but the Italian made several errors and could only finish in sixth, while team-mate Leon Camier ran another convincing race in seventh, ahead of Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) and Corser (BMW), while this time both Suzuki riders Guintoli and Kagayama finished in the points.

Ben Spies: “First I’ve got to thank Yamaha for giving me everything I needed to win. It was really good, we did what we had to do and it was difficult to do that because the pace was quite fast and I saw that there were a couple of people behind me. I knew that if Nori won I had to be sixth, so I tried to stay out of trouble. It was spectacular, I can’t thank Yamaha enough and everyone who’s been behind me for my first year here. It’ll sink in in the next couple of days!”.

Michel Fabrizio: “Both Jonathan and I showed that we’re going to be up at the front next year and we’re going to do a lot of these battles. I really wanted that win, Johnny made a mistake here at the last curve, maybe a gear slipped or something, and for me it was all OK. Just as well because otherwise it would have been difficult to overtake him.”

Noriyuki Haga: “This weekend we had a problem with the rear tyre and in the first race we made a mistake with the tyre choice and I crashed. Second race was quite good, I was worried for the tyre life, but I started to push and I am happy for second position. Unlucky for today for the title but I try to do my best for next year and congratulations to Ben for the world title.”

Jonathan Rea: “With Michel I was racing for my own championship position and it seemed to be a little bit of a fight and I had to do something on the last lap to win the race and get fourth in the championship. I tried everything but made a mistake which allowed Michel to get past. But this is my best weekend of the season with a double podium.”

Results: 1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 38′19.654 (158,148 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1.195; 3. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1.494; 4. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 5.553; 5. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 5.842; 6. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 7.374; 7. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 9.658; 8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 10.434; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 17.010; 10. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 24.509; 11. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 27.195; 12. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 34.825; 13. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 35.135; 14. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′01.842; 15. Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1′09.782; 16. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′30.818

Final Points: 1. Spies 462; 2. Haga 456; 3. Fabrizio 382; 4.Biaggi 319; 5.Rea 315; 6. Haslam 241; 7.Checa 209; 8. Byrne 192; 9. Sykes 176; 10. Smrz 169. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 572; 2. Yamaha 505; 3. Honda 431; 4. Aprilia 329; 5. Suzuki 173; 6. Bmw 141; 7. Kawasaki 76

Supersport

Mission accomplished for Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport)! Thanks to a four place in the final round, the British rider took the 2009 title in his debut year in the championship. The race win however went to Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), who did what he had to do and won but Crutchlow was impeccable in fourth and took home a well-deserved title. The runner-up slot went to Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who finished the championship in third place, a result that was made easier by the retirement of his chief rival Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com). It was a good day also for Triumph, who saw Garry McCoy step onto the podium for the second time this year, and Chaz Davies finish in seventh. Fifth place went to Mark Aitchison (Honda Althea), who got the better of Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini), who scored his best result of the season. It was a disappointing day for Massimo Roccoli (Honda Intermoto Czech), who crashed out, while Honda, thanks to Laverty’s win, took the category’s constructors’ title.

Results: 1. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 35′17.044 (156,173 kph); 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 3.443; 3. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 13.874; 4. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 15.144; 5. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 16.608; 6. Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 20.008; 7. Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 22.007; 8. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R622.034

Final points: 1. Crutchlow 243; 2. Laverty 236; 3. Sofuoglu 189; 4. Lascorz 163; 5. Foret 123; 6. Pitt 119; 7. West 117: 8. McCoy 98; 9. Aitchison 93; 10. Fujiwara 73: Manufacturers: 1. Honda 297; 2. Yamaha 284; 3. Kawasaki 186; 4. Triumph 114; 5. Suzuki 30.

Superstock 1000

Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox) crowned the title he won at Magny-Cours in the best possible way by going on to take a dominant win in the final round at Portimao. For the Belgian rider, who has always been on the podium this year, it was the fifth win in ten races, a clear sign of his supremacy and that of Ducati, winners of the last three titles. Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare) did everything possible to keep up with the pace of the new champion, before settling for second place a couple of laps from the end. Third went to Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini), who beat off René Mahr (TKR Suzuki) in a sprint finish. Poleman Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda) made an early mistake and was unable to recover, but he did finish ahead of fellow Frenchmen Loris Baz (MRS Yamaha) and Sylvain Barrier (Garnier Yamaha). It was a race to forget for Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox), who crashed in the early laps and was unable to hold on to his fifth place in the championship.

Results: 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 21′26.494 (154,198 kph); 2. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 3.594; 3. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 4.566; 4. Mähr R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 4.779; 5. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 11.496; 6. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 12.115; 7. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 12.166; 8. Jezek O. (CZE) Honda CBR1000RR 16.196

Final points: 1. Simeon 225; 2. Corti 168; 3. Berger 138; 4. Fores 132; 5. Barrier 92; 6. Beretta 85; 7. Jesek 76; 8. Baz 61; 9. Mahr 48; 10. Giugliano 43. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 225: 2. Honda 172; 3. Suzuki 170; 4. Kawasaki 132; 5. Yamaha 126; 6. Mv Agusta 26; 7. Aprilia 15

Superstock 600

The European Superstock 600 Championship battle had a terrific ending as Britain’s Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) scored a third place finish in the race to take the title by just one point from Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno), winner today ahead of Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha), who finished third overall in the standings. The race revolved around the duel between these three riders, who repeatedly exchanged positions and the result went right down to the line. Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno) was immediately out of the equation as he lost touch with the leading trio, while poleman Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini) crashed on the sighting lap before taking his place on the grid.

Results: 1. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 18′07.948 (151,948 kph); 2. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 0.455; 3. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 0.507; 4. Karlsen F. (NOR) Yamaha YZF R6 12.942; 5. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 13.069; 6. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 13.304; 7. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 13.314; 8. Morelli N. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 13.630

Points: 1. Rea 154; 2. Bussolotti 153; 3. Lonbois 151; 4. Petrucci 146; 5. La Marra 104; 6. Guarnoni 104; 7. Guittet 78: 8. Kerschbaumer 76; 9. Karlsen 43; 10. Morelli 42

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Ducati Xerox

Portimao (Portugal), Sunday 25 October 2009: a bittersweet finale for Noriyuki Haga and the Ducati Xerox Team today when they lost the World Superbike riders title by just six points, after the Japanese rider crashed out of Race 1, to then finish on the podium, second, in Race 2. Already winners in the constructors championship, the Ducati factory team fought until the final lap of this last race but unfortunately they couldn’t do enough and it was Yamaha’s Spies who lifted the trophy. Michel Fabrizio, fifth in the first race, made a great recovery from eleventh position at the start of Race 2, to eventually win the race ahead of his team-mate, thus consolidating his third position in the final championship standings.

Race 1 did not go at all to plan for the Ducati Xerox Team. Japanese rider Noriyuki made up three positions with a strong start, progressing immediately up to seventh place, from where, in the space of four laps, he was able to catch up to both Haslam and Byrne. In the course of the fifth lap, Haga, followed by his team-mate Michel, was able to pass Haslam but unfortunately on the very next lap Haga unfortunately lost control of his Ducati 1198 and fell going into a corner, unable to restart his machine to continue the race. Michel, registered the fastest lap of the race before witnessing Nori’s accident from behind. He then maintained his fifth position for the remainder of the race, suffering from a lack of rear grip from the fourteenth lap onwards which meant he was unable to make up time to catch the leading pack.

In the second race, having changed both his bike and the tyres, Noriyuki made a better start and after two laps was positioned fifth. A couple of laps later Michel passed him, aiming to catch Byrne and Rea up ahead. Fighting the two British riders for several laps, the Italian finally got ahead of both of them during lap thirteen, only to lose the lead once more to Rea a few laps later. Haga in the meantime caught the leading group, passing both Biaggi and Byrne to move up to third position. An error by Rea during the very last lap allowed both Ducati Xerox riders through and Michel and Noriyuki thus closed in first and second, another double win for the team at this final event of 2009.

During the 2009 season, Noriyuki Haga has achieved an impressive collection of 8 race wins, including 2 double wins, in Valencia and Kyalami, and 19 podiums in all. Michel clocked up 15 podiums, 3 of which were race wins, and together the two riders have amassed a total of 838 points. Ducati has won the constructors title with an advantage of 67 points over second-placed Yamaha.

Noriyuki Haga (2nd in classification, 456 points)
“All weekend I have had problems with the set up of the bike, mainly with the tyres that didn’t give me total confidence. Usually we have a package that works well at every track and here too we didn’t change so much with regard to the setting, only really tyres. In Race 1 we mounted two hard tyres and they didn’t perform as we’d hoped, they didn’t give me the necessary grip so it was hard to brake and unfortunately I fell even though I wasn’t pushing so hard. We changed bikes for Race 2, just to be sure, as well as changing tyres of course. This time I had more grip and was able to make a good race. Unfortunately second in the race was not enough to take the title and it’s a real pity, but I must say that I have had a great first year with this fantastic team that always provides me with a good bike. I thank my whole technical team, Ducati, the sponsors and the Clinica Mobile who have taken good care of me throughout the season. My compliments go to Ben who has been such a strong rival this year and even though he is going to MotoGP next year, I am sure we will remain friends. This week we’ll start testing in preparation for next year. This year was a new adventure with Ducati and we’ll continue to give 100% in 2010.”

Michel Fabrizio (3rd in classification, 382 points)
“The first race was very difficult. I didn’t make the best start but immediately started to push to make up time. Then, following behind Nori, I lost concentration for a minute when I saw him go down. I then tried to catch the leading group but I didn’t have great feeling with the front tyre and then, about eight laps from the end, the rear tyre started to drop off too. In Race 2 on the other hand I was able to fight hard against Rea. The last time we raced together, at Misano, he got past me so it was my turn to do the same to him today. It was only for the fact that Rea made a mistake on the last lap that I was able to pass him as he was very strong today. I am very sorry for Nori of course but we demonstrated that we are strong and, for me, both Ben and Nori are winners because they have given us a fantastic season’s racing, fighting until the very end for the title.

RESULTS: Race 1 – 1. Spies (Yamaha); 2. Rea (Honda); 3. Biaggi (Aprilia); Race 2 - 1. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox); 2. Haga (Ducati Xerox); 3. Rea (Honda)

FINAL CLASSIFICATION:
Riders– 1. Spies (Yamaha) 462; 2. Haga (Ducati Xerox) 456; 3. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 382; 4. Biaggi (Aprilia) 319; 5. Rea (Honda) 315; 6. Haslam (Honda) 241….

Manufacturers – Ducati 572; Yamaha 505; Honda 431; Aprilia 329; Suzuki 173; BMW 141; Kawasaki 76
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Ben Spies

PORTIMAO, Portugal (Oct. 25, 2009) – American Ben Spies was crowned World Superbike Champion Sunday at the Algarve Circuit in Portugal. Spies won the first race on his Yamaha R1 and took a conservative fifth-place finish in the second. It was a remarkable end to the season for the 25-year-old rider from Dallas, a three-time AMA Superbike Champion and rookie in World Superbike.

Spies was 10 points behind Japanese rider Noriyuki Haga coming into the final two races in Portugal. Spies took victory in the first leg, while Haga crashed his Ducati on lap seven.

“It was actually a really tough race,” Spies said of race one. “At first I was just going for the win, getting to the front and not worrying about anything. Then when Haga was out I had to win to get as many points as possible for race two. Once you have a gap, you don’t want to be stupid and throw it all away.”

Haga scoring no points gave Spies a 15-point lead going into the final race of the year. In the second race Spies ran as high as second early, before gradually dropping back to a safe position at the tail end the leading group of six riders. Italian Michel Fabrizio took the win in the second race, followed by Haga and Jonathan Rea of Great Britain. Spies passed Max Biaggi in the closing laps and cruised home to fifth. That finish was good enough to secure the championship for Spies by six points (462-456) over Haga.

“First I’ve got to thank Yamaha for giving me everything I needed to win. It was really good, we did what we had to do and it was difficult to do that because the pace was quite fast and I saw that there were a couple of people behind me. I knew that if Nori won I had to be sixth, so I tried to stay out of trouble. It was spectacular; I can’t thank Yamaha enough and everyone who’s been behind me for my first year here. It’ll sink in in the next couple of days!”

This weekend concluded one of the greatest individual seasons in series’ history. Spies won the title with 14 race wins in 28 starts and a record-breaking 11 pole positions. In a single season of racing Spies is tied for 12th on the all-time World Superbike career wins list.

Spies becomes the first American rider since fellow Texan Colin Edwards in 2002 to win the World Superbike title. Edwards and Spies will be teammates on the Tech 3 Yamaha MotoGP squad in 2010. Spies will race as a wildcard entry in the year-ending MotoGP event in Valencia on November 8.

It was an outstanding weekend for Yamaha having secured the MotoGP, World Superbike and World Supersport titles on the same day. Spies’ win gives Yamaha its first title in World Superbike.

In the U.S. both legs of World Superbike from Portimao will be shown back to back today (Sunday, Oct. 25) starting at 3:00 pm Eastern on SPEED.

Ben Spies is sponsored by Yamaha, HJC, Alpinestars, Specialized and Parts Europe.
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PBM

In their final rides for the Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team, Broc Parkes and Makoto Tamada posted their best cumulative score of any race meeting this season together when they contested the final round of the Hannspree World Superbike Championship at Portimao in Portugal today.

Following on from a contrasting qualifying session, which saw 32 year old Japanese Tamada claim 15th on the grid, three places ahead of disappointed 27 year old Aussie Parkes, the pair were hoping for a decent showing on their final outing for the Paul Bird Motorsport Team-run
www.supercasino.com, Vent-Axia, Kick Energy and Henleys-backed Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10Rs.

In race one, the pair battled hard and helped by a high attrition rate, Parkes crossed the line in 11th place, one place ahead of his team-mate after 22 laps of the tortuous 4.5km Algarve track, despite tyre problems as the race progressed.

Race two saw both riders in green make disastrous starts but with refreshing tenacity, Parkes clawed his way up to 12th at the flag with Tamada missing out on a point by finishing in 16th place.

Whereas in Miller, stand-in rider Jamie Hacking combined with Parkes to score 14 points from the two races but the tally of 13 points from a single race weekend at Portimao marked the best performance of the two regular riders, Parkes and Tamada.

After a difficult debut season, Parkes ended up 18th in the series with a total of 51 points, scoring in 15 of the 28 races whereas Tamada’s season was blighted by injury, him finishing 27th in the standings with just 12 points from three points scoring rides.

Parkes’ best result was a hat trick of tenth places (Valencia, Monza and Imola) with Tamada’s best result also being tenth in Brno. Hacking’s seventh place finish at his home round in Miller was the team’s best result of the season and Kawasaki’s best result since Regis Laconi’s sixth place finish in 2007 at Lausitzring. Kawasaki’s final placing in the Manufacturers’ standings was 7th with 72 points.

Broc Parkes: “In the first race we didn’t have much grip from the start so I couldn’t do much to push into the top ten but I had some good battles and was happy enough to finish in eleventh with some solid points. In the second race I felt the bike was better and we had more grip with more consistent lap times but the best I could do was twelfth. I felt that we’ve hit a bit of a wall towards the end of the season as we’ve had a couple of hard races but I feel the bike will get better and better with testing. Obviously I’m disappointed that I can’t help with the development but I’d like to thank the team for their hard work and I’ve enjoyed the challenge of 2009 and I hope I can remain in this paddock for 2010.”

Makoto Tamada: “I didn’t have very good starts today so it made it a little more difficult to make passes and move ahead but I was genuinely happy that I could finish both races which is the first time this year aside from Phillip Island. The bike feeling was better in the second race than the first but I had a very bad start and had to move from last place to 16th and this was the best I could do. It has been a very difficult year for me with injuries and bad luck but the team have done a great job and I hope they continue to progress. As for my future I am still looking but I hope to remain in this paddock for next year.”

Paul Risbridger, Team Manager: “It’s a positive end of season for the team and it was good to see the bike working well at this circuit and although our qualifying could have been better we still managed good race pace and both riders finishing in the points was a bonus. To the team’s credit we had consistent and reliable bikes this weekend but two, top ten finishes would have been great. Our thoughts now move to 2010 and our winter testing programme, we’re looking forward to further development with the ZX-10R and the challenges ahead. Finally I’d like to thank both Broc and Makoto for their commitment this year and wish them the very best of luck for their future plans.”

RACE 1 RESULTS

11. B. Parkes (Kawasaki WSB) 5 points
12. M. Tamada (Kawasaki WSB) 4 points

1. B. Spies (Yamaha WSB)
2. J. Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda)
3. M. Biaggi (Aprilia Racing)
4. S. Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati)
5. M. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox Team)
6. L. Camier (Aprilia Racing)
7. C. Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda)
8. R. Xaus (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
9. M. Lagrive (Honda Althea Racing)
10. M. Baiocco (Guandalini Racing)

RACE 2 RESULTS

12. B. Parkes (Kawasaki WSB) 4 point
16. M. Tamada (Kawasaki WSB) 0 points

1. M. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox Team)
2. N. Haga (Ducati Xerox Team)
3. J. Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda)
4. S. Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati)
5. B. Spies (Yamaha WSB)
6. M. Biaggi (Aprilia Racing)
7. L. Camier (Aprilia Racing)
8. J. Smrz (Guandalini Racing)
9. T. Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
10. S. Guintoli (Team Suzuki Alstare)
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Stiggy Racing Honda

The British rider has successfully taken not less then 11 top five finishes this year, including four podium places and because of these results he has become the best Superbike privateer rider. The 2009 season started with a podium finish for the team but unfortunately it didn’t end as well as it started at the ultimate round in Portimao today.

Leon suffered a crash in the ultimate minutes of today’s warm-up session, leaving an open gash to his left elbow that had to be fixed up with number of stitches to close the wound. Despite his injury Leon charged hard in today’s two races. Starting from a second row on the grid Leon was up to a fifth place in the first couple of laps. But the Brit suffered front-end problems right from the start of the race and while in sixth place, half way through the race, Leon lost grip and crashed out. Luckily, no further injuries was sustained. Going out for the second 22-lap race, Leon decided to race on his number two bike as his number one bike had been damaged in the crash. But again small issues with his machine occurred and only seven laps into the race Leon was forced to retire due to technical problems.

Leon Haslam - Race 1-DNF, Race 2-DNF:
“In race one we had a few issues with the setup using a too hard front tyre. I ended up crashing because I was touching the shifter which was too bad as it would have been an easy top five finish otherwise. In race two we got the settings loads better and I just got past Spies and was in a big group of riders, up to the front runners. This was not the best of weekends but it has been a fantastic year so we just have to forget about today with the injuries and the crashes. It’s been an awesome year and now I’m looking forward to the future.”

Johan Stigefelt - Team Manager:
-” We didn’t have a good day today, we wanted to finish off the season on a high, especially as we started it off so well. But we have to remember that we were new to this class and that we still managed a sixth place championship finish, as the best privateer and among that several podiums, so we have to be happy with that. If we didn’t have the problems we had with the settings and bike today, we would have been up there in the top for sure. It has been a long and very hard season for us and everyone in the team has deserved a good finish to the end of the season. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the guys in the team for their great and hard work and big thanks to Leon for his excellent performances. We wish him all the best for the future.”