World Superbike Donington: Sunday (updated regularly)

NEWEST AT TOP

Pirelli

Adding to his growing stack of awards, Ben Spies (Yamaha) took home his third double-win of the season on the English track of Donington Park, increasing his overall points ranking in the championship to within 14 of leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati). The Japanese pilot, who crashed out in Race 2, has reportedly suffered a spinal fracture and was transported to hospital in Derby for further investigation.

For the race at Donington, PIRELLI has always shown an impressive organizational effort, considering the variability of English weather. For the 131 drivers on the track during the weekend PIRELLI brought 5455 tires, of which there were 36 different options available. For the
SBK in particular, riders had a choice of 4 front slicks including one new compound derived from
development of the new SC2, as well as 3 rear race solutions, with still the new super-soft Superpole solution featuring a yellow PIRELLI sticker on the sidewall for differentiation.

The performance of the new super-soft DIABLO SUPERBIKE Superpole tyre, which has the
possibility of making 4-5 fast laps, was demonstrated successfully again this Saturday, so much
so that the fast lap of the track, a 1′30 “370 produced by Troy Bayliss in 2007, was literally
disintegrated, and not by just one pilot. The new Best Lap was made by Michel Fabrizio in
Superpole 2, stopping the clocks at 1′29 “664, but 10 other drivers also registered times below
the previous record.

Fabrizio’s time couldn’t be bettered in Superpole 3, when the final pole position is awarded, due to the arrival of rain. So the conquerer was Ben Spies (Yamaha), who took his eighth out of nine Superpoles for the season. Significant day also for Aprilia who had Max Biaggi and Shinya Nakano on the first row, along with the Sterilgarda Ducati of Shane Byrne who completed the four up front. In the second row were the Ducati Xerox duo composed of Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga, accompanied by Carlos Checa (Honda) and Jakub Smrz (Ducati).

Race 1

Ben Spies (Yamaha) sealed his ninth win in Race 1, managing to pull ahead at the end of the
courageous Max Biaggi, whose excellent performance brought the Aprilia their first second place
podium spot after coming so close in Qatar. In third place was Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), who had
tried to keep up with the leading two, finally dropping his pace and accepting his position. All
three leaders were running the “B” solution PIRELLI DIABLO SUPERBIKE rear, which proved to be more performance of the “A” on the 23 laps around the Donington circuit. After a couple of
races of less than stellar results, Leon Haslam (Honda) again joined the first four, not to mention
first among British pilots and proceeding the 2008 BSB champion Shane Byrne (Ducati). The
successful tender of April 1 has been sealed from sixth place to Shinya Nakano. Unfortunate for
Race 2 winner at Misano, Jonathan Rea (Honda), who finished only seventh, instead of providing
positive. John Hopkins (Honda), who is clearly not yet top physical condition, still squeezed out
an eighth place. Far behind was Michel Fabrizio (Ducati), who saw his race compromised by
some gearing problems.

Race 2

The incredible fights for second through fourth in Race 2 did not include Ben Spies (Yamaha),
who dominated even more impressively than in Race 1. The outstanding Texan took off immediately accumulating up to a 7″ lead, winning smoothly his tenth race of the season. In this
second race the asphalt temperature was 10° higher than the previous one of the day, but the
temperature change did not bring substantial changes to the behavior of PIRELLI’s DIABLO
SUPERBIKE tyres, although the overall race time increased by 17″. The most difficult moment of
the race was the crash of Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) while in second; and it is looking like the
Japanese rider suffered a vertebral fracture. While Haga was on the ground, there was also a
crash by Max Biaggi, fracturing the third toe on his right foot, but he climbed aboard again to
finish in 21st. The second spot on the podium was thus deservedly awarded to Leon Haslam
(Honda), who fought until the last lap to contain an approaching Michel Fabrizio (Ducati). Given
that it is the race closest to home, additional British pilots took solid spots in Race 2: fourth place
for the excellent Shane Byrne (Ducati), ahead of Tom Sykes (Yamaha), who redeemed himself
from his withdrawal in Race 1, and current leader of this year’s BSB, wild card Leon Camier
(Yamaha). Of note, the provision of Ruben Xaus, with a BMW that has given some signs of growth competitiveness, a strong ninth place finish with some very excellent passes. John Hopkins (Honda) never entered the grid, paying for his strong physical efforts of Race 1.

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Yamaha World Superbike

Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies made it a clean sweep at Donington today, blowing away the competition to take both races with decisive and well earned wins. Race one saw the American rider take an early lead, closely followed by Aprilia rider Max Biaggi. No matter how hard Biaggi tried he was unable to close the final gap to challenge Spies and settled for second at the flag. Race two saw Spies again take an early lead, repeating the performance of Miller as he gained nearly a second a lap as he pulled away until he had over a 7.4 second advantage. He ran a lonely race at the front to claim his second win of the day, a separate class to the following pack.

Team-mate Tom Sykes had a less than perfect start to the first of his home races. Coming in hot to the hairpin on the ninth lap he braked hard over the bumpy surface and lost the front of the bike, crashing out. Race two saw a good start from the British rider who despite having issues with the front brakes managed to lay down consistent fast lap after lap, towards the end of the race he was the fastest man on the circuit and the only one to touch under the 1.32 mark in the closing stages. As others crashed out and Sykes rode faster he made it to fifth position at the flag.

After a serious crash ruled Haga out of race two, the day’s wins brings Ben Spies up to 294 points in the championship, now just 14 points from the top. Tom Sykes takes 11 points from his second race, keeping him in seventh position, just 14 points from nearest rival Max Biaggi.

Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st, 1st)
“it was a picture perfect weekend. It was a tough race, Max was there the whole time but we were able to do quick laps to stay ahead, the last three laps I rode as hard as I could just to make sure of the win. In the second race I knew Nori had a big crash and I hope he’s ok. It’s not the way we want to win it but you have to take the points when you can. It was a good second race for us though. The track was hot and a bit slick so we made some changes to the bike which made it better from race one. It was a good job for Leon, getting on the podium at his home round was great, I know how that feels. It was tough being out on my own, I had to focus lap to lap to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes. I can’t thank the Yamaha guys enough we changed a lot of things around and they came and delivered me two really good bikes to win on.”

	Tom Sykes

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Stiggy Racing Honda Supersport

The ninth round of the World Supersport championship was concluded in a great way for the Stiggy Racing Honda rider Gianluca Vizziello as he brought his Honda CBR600RR to the seventh place in the 22-lap supersport race at the British track of Donington today.

Gianluca Vizziello was far from comfortable with the front set-up of his machine in the qualifying practices leading to race day, but successfully continued to build on further progress in the 20-minute morning warm-up session ahead of the race.

From his 22nd position in the grid the Italian rider impressively advanced through the field while he kept the door locked in his rivals coming up behind him, and took a seventh place at the checkered flag - his best result for the team so far this season.

Anthony West ended the two days of Donington qualifying with mixed results, but showed improved performance as he topped the sheets in the warm up. The Australian rider  - who took two podium finishes for his team so far this season - was ready to step up in the race and moved up to fourth position before an unfortunate tumble on the fifth lap prematurely put an end to his race.

Gianluca Vizziello,7th:
“This weekend we have had a lot of problems with the suspension and we have tried a lot of different things in the qualifying sessions. This morning we managed to find the set up that I liked and used it in the race. It allowed me to put the tyres where I wanted them and put a lot more pressure on. The bike was handling well today, which is the most important to me. I am very pleased with my result today and hope I can continue the improvement in the next races.”

Anthony West,DNF:
“I am really disappointed with my crash here today. I just lost the front of my machine in the last sector. I felt really comfortable in the warm up session and was riding at a better pace than my rivals. I am pleased that we seem to have found the problem that was holding us back in the last races. It is just a shame that I haven’t been able to put it into practice here today. We will now concentrate on our test in Brno next week and further develop the machine for the next race at Brno.”

Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager:
“Gianluca showed an amazing performance here today. He just rode the wheels of that bike and showed he can keep his head down and focus. We have never seen him doing so well before. Finishing seventh is like a victory for that side of the garage. Anthony was riding in fourth position before he crashed. It is very unfortunate for him, specially after doing so well in the morning session. But that’s racing, we will now put our focus on the next race.”

Results Supersport Race:
1. C.Crutchlow
2. J.Lascorz
3. G.McCoy
7. G.Vizziello
DNF A.West

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Superbike World Championship

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

Race 1

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

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

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

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

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

Race 2

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

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

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

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

Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 35′14.788 (157,512 kph); 2. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 6.622; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.816; 4. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 7.349; 5. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 8.145; 6. Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 13.463; 7. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 15.751; 8. Ellison J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 16.837; 9. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 22.891; 10. Andrews S. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 30.347; 11. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 30.622;12. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 31.562; 13. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 32.148; 14. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 32.607; 15. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 32.806; 16. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 34.269

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

World Supersport

Coventry man Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) had a terrific homecoming race at the Donington circuit as he shrugged off the broken ankle he picked up in qualifying to  take a dominant fourth win of the year. His chief rival in the title battle Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), together with Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Provec) tried hard in the early stages, but the Irishman crashed at the Melbourne Hairpin and the Spaniard had to take second best after Crutchlow upped the pace in the final part. Laverty rejoined and worked his way back up the field from 22^nd place to fifth overall. It was a great result for veteran Australian Garry McCoy, who gave Triumph its first ever podium in Supersport. Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) could only finish fourth and is now 64 points away from the top of the standings, while team-mate Andrew Pitt fared even worse to finish in tenth. Gianluca Vizziello (Stiggy Racing Honda) scored his best result of the year in seventh behind Barry Veneman (George White Ten Kate Honda).

Results: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 34′15.876 (154,981 kph); 2. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 5.391; 3. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 14.918; 4. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 22.248; 5. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 37.054; 6. Veneman B. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 39.079; 7. Vizziello G. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 39.978; 8. Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 42.733

Points (after 9 of 14 rounds): 1. Crutchlow 185; 2. Laverty 157; 3. Sofuoglu 121; 4. Lascorz 106; 5. Pitt 79; 6. West 75; 7. Foret 63; 8. Aitchison 61; 9. McCoy 55; 10. Pirro 49. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 191; 2. Yamaha 185; 3. Kawasaki 117; 4. Triumph 69; 5. Suzuki 30

Superstock 1000

After four second places, Xavier Simeon scored his first win of the season on the Xerox Ducati 1098, the Belgian increasing his lead in the championship to 11 points over his closest rival, Claudio Corti (Alstare Suzuki). The Belgian led the race from lights to flag, gradually easing off towards the end. Corti had a great race, recovering to finish second from 22^nd on the grid, while Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda) also ran well, setting fastest lap in 1’33”516, and taking the final podium slot after also moving up from row 6. Fourth place went to Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini), who finished ahead of the two Frenchmen Sylvain Barrier (Garnier) and Loris Baz (MRS), both on Yamahas, and Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox) in seventh.

Results: 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 18′54.713 (153,161 kph); 2. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K91.600; 3. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 2.110; 4. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2.522; 5. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 3.433; 6. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 5.596; 7. Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 9.556; 8. Schouten R. (NED) Yamaha YZF R1 10.646

Points (after 5 of 10 rounds): 1. Simeon 105; 2. Corti 94; 3. Berger 82; 4. Fores 64; 5. Barrier 54; 6. Beretta 45; 7. Baz 33: 8. Jezek 32; 9. Magnoni 19; 10. Burrell 19. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 105: 2. Suzuki 94; 3. Honda 92; 4. Kawasaki 64; 5. Yamaha 62; 6. MV Agusta 18; 7. Aprilia 8

Superstock 600

The Superstock 600 championship battle was thrown wide-open after points leader Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno) crashed out on the second lap after being taken out by Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha) while in the lead. The Italian remounted to finish ninth, a result that allowed him to maintain his points lead. The chasing riders Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) and Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno) are now 4 and 11 points down on the leader respectively. The British rider and the Italian fought it out for the win at the end of a terrific scrap, and in the end it was Bussolotti who took the chequered flag for his first win of the year. Third place went to Frenchman Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha), while Eddi La Marra (Lorini Honda) missed a good chance by crashing out on lap 6 while in the lead of the race. The Italian recovered to finish 12th.

Results: 1. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 16′18.425 (148,022 kph); 2. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 0.213; 3. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 2.126; 4. Guittet B. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 6.948; 5. Kerschbaumer S. (AUT) Yamaha YZF R6 11.136; 6. Morelli N. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 14.695; 7. Chmielewski A. (POL) Yamaha YZF R6 14.780 8. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 16.782

Points (after 5 of 10 rounds): 1. Petrucci 82; 2. Rea 78; 3. Bussolotti 71; 4. Guarnoni 70; 5. Lonbois 64; 6. Kerschbaumer 43; 7. Guittet 40; 8. La Marra 39; 9. Litjens 38; 10. Chmielewski 30

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Stiggy Racing Honda

Stiggy Racing Honda Leon Haslam flew the flag for Honda and the Brits in the ninth round for the World Superbike championship at his home track at Donington today.

The 26-year old British ace took a fourth place in the first 23-lap superbike race, and highlighted another superb performance for the team in the second outing as he impressively snuffed fellow British riders as well as the other Honda’s in the field.

While chasing race leader Ben Spies, Haslam found a persistent Shane Byrne pushing at his rear wheel, but the man from Derby successfully outpaced the Ducati rider and took a well deserved second place on the rostrum in his home race.

John Hopkins made his return with the team after sitting out the last eight races and claimed his first top ten finish onboard the Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR since he entered the championship. Hopkins defied the pain in his left hip while he kept the door closed on his rivals and surprised everyone as he took an impressive eight place at the flag.

Unfortunately, the American had to sacrifice the offer he made as the swelling of his injuries prevented a second race start. Hopkins chose to nurse his injuries and watched the second race from the sideline.

In the best round of the season so far the Stiggy Racing Honda team have shown their capacities and set out their goals for the remainder of the 14-round championship season.

Leon Haslam, Race 1 - 4th, Race 2 - 2nd:
“After going to all these foreign countries it is so good to be back home and taking a good result in front of the English fans. To get the reception I got here today is just amazing. I was pushing for a good result here today and to be on the podium in the second race is just great. I had a few chatter issues in both races, but I managed to hold them off. Everyone seemed to be struggling with the grip in that second session. I felt pretty good on the first and second sector, but the Ducatis were really strong on the last split, so I had to work hard to keep them behind me. The pace was not that good, but I managed to hold it up and bring the bike home in second. I am looking forward to our test in Brno and am ready to make one more step ahead now and get on top of that podium.”

John Hopkins, Race 1 - 8th, Race 2 - DNS:
“First of all I want to apologise to the team and sponsors for not being able to ride the second race today. I got off the line really good in the first race but just poked around on the first lap and was not as aggressive as I normally am. But as the adrenaline kicked in I picked my way up to gain as many positions as possible. Halfway the race the pain kicked in and I struggled to move on the bike. From the whole of turn one to the end of the straight I just had to sit still on the bike and not put any pressure on my left leg. It is a good result for the condition I was in today. I have five days of testing coming up now and I am just really happy to be having fun on a motorcycle again. Even though I was in a lot of pain today, it was the best race I have had in the last two years. I have a lot of fun on the bike again, and that’s when you start getting faster.”

Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager:
“I am very happy with the fist race. Leon did very well and took the fourth position. John has just done a fantastic job again and surprised us all. He really has shown he is a top rider and we can’t wait for him to be back on full strength. A fourth and eighth finish in one race is the best result for our team so far this season. Unfortunately John could not ride the second race as he is still in too much pain. He couldn’t even get off the bike without help after the first race. He will now concentrate on getting fit for our test in Brno next week. Leon rode an amazing set of races here at his home track. He had some small issues but kept his head down and managed to keep his second place till the finish. I am very happy with the results he has achieved for the team and I am pleased he could achieve this in his home race in front of our English guests.”

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Ducati Xerox

Donington Park (UK), Sunday 28th June: with the third place finish achieved in Race 1 at Donington Park today, Noriyuki Haga becomes the third rider in Superbike history to have obtained 100 podiums. Unfortunately in race 2 Haga was victim of a serious crash in which he has suffered a fracture of one of the spinal vertebrae. He has been transferred this afternoon to Derby hospital where the medical team will further evaluate the situation.

In the first race Noriyuki made a strong start and found himself in third position behind Spies and Biaggi. When the leading two began to pull away the Japanese rider did all he could to stick with them but the gap increased and Noriyuki rode a lonely last few laps. His team-mate Michel lost a few position at the start and found it subsequently difficult to make up the lost ground, mainly due to a technical problem with the gears. Losing further positions in the final phase of the race, Fabrizio was however able to collect three points,  finishing in twelfth place.

In Race 2 Nakano and Rea crashed out early on living Fabrizio a small advantage; in the initial laps the Italian rider progressed from ninth to third position. Despite Byrne’s defensive riding, Michel finally managed to pass him aftger nineteen laps, maintaining second position as far as the checkered flag.

Noriyuki made another good start and was in second place by the end of the first lap, but on the fourth lap he suffered a bad fall while entering Coppice Corner. He was immediately transferred to the track’s medical centre where the doctors declared a fracture of one of his vertebrae. At this point it was decided to move him by helicopter to Derby hospital where he will receive further medical attention.

Noriyuki ha finished on the podium in thirteen of the eighteen races run so far, Michel in eleven; with today’s results, the Ducati Xerox team continue their 100% podium record.
Noriyuki is only the third ever rider in Superbike history to score 100 podiums; only Corser with 128 and Fogarty with 109 have achieved more. Of the 100 podiums, 39 have been race wins.

Haga continues to lead the championship, holding 308 points ahead of Spies with 294 and Fabrizio with 257. Ducati leads the constructors classification with 383 points to Yamaha’s 337.

Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 –3rd, Race 2 – DNF)
Race 1: “I’m very happy to have made the podium today because we knew it would be a very difficult weekend. I am proud to have reached the 100 podium mark! At the start of Race 1 I did all I could to stick with Max and Ben but, even though I was pushing, today they seemed to have a small advantage and I was unable to do better than third.”

Race 2: Haga, after today’s accident, was unavavilable for comment at time of print.

Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 – 12th, Race 2 – 3rd)
“Race 1 was very difficult, I had a problem with the gears and because of this I lost several positions. I couldn’t do much to improve the situation and in the end I could only bring home three points. Before Race 2 we decided to go out with the second bike. I again made a bad start but immediately started to work to regain ground. I spent most of the race battling it out against Byrne and Haslam, just managing to pass Shakey near the end. I’m happy with my race 2 result but I am of course sorry for Nori. I saw the accident and it reminded me of Troy’s crash in the same place two years ago, both serious.”

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

CLASSIFICATION: Riders– 1. Haga (Ducati Xerox) 308; 2. Spies (Yamaha) 294; 3. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 257; 4. Rea (Honda) 177; 5. Haslam (Honda) 167; 6. Biaggi (Aprilia) 155.  Manufacturers – Ducati 383; Yamaha 337; Honda 273; Aprilia 162; Suzuki 131; BMW 70; Kawasaki 47

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Ben Spies

CASTLE DONINGTON, England (June 28, 2009) – For the third time this season Ben Spies earned a clean sweep at a World Superbike round. This time the factory Yamaha rider scored the double victory at England’s Donington Park, following up on his double victories in Qatar and the United States earlier this season. In a dramatic turn of events, the two wins, combined with a DNF by series leader Noriyuki Haga, brings Spies to within 14 points of the series lead.

Spies was simply in control at Donington Park all weekend.

Starting from the pole on his Yamaha R1, Spies led every lap of both races. In the first race he was challenged by Aprilia’s Max Biaggi until the final set of turns, where’s Biaggi’s bike slowed. Despite Biaggi staying close, Spies’ lead never appeared to be under real threat. He was able to reply each time the veteran Biaggi tried to make inroads. In the end, with Biaggi’s bike issues, Spies won by a margin of 7.156 seconds. Biaggi managed to hold onto second over Haga.

“In many ways the first race was easier for me than the second,” Spies explained. “With Max right there it gave me plenty to concentrate on.”

Race two saw Spies steadily pull away from the field with a set of blistering laps. Behind him dramatic events were happening at a dizzying rate. A slew of riders crashed, among them Haga, who fell on lap five forcing him to retire from the race. Leon Haslam held off Michel Fabrizio in a good battle for second over six-and-a-half seconds behind winner Spies.

“I built a good lead early and then my focus was broken a little bit when I saw Nori crashed,” Spies said. “So many things were going through my head. I was hoping Nori was OK, but also excited knowing that, if I could manage to win that second race, I would be back in serious contention for the championship. I got my focus back and then worked the lead up to about seven seconds. On the tight corners I was able look back and monitor the battle for second.

“It was a picture perfect weekend for us. We needed to have one like this. The crew did a great job and gave me an excellent motorcycle all weekend. We’ve had our ups and downs this season, but we’re back in the championship now and that’s what counts.”

The second race win at Donington was Spies’ 10th of the season. In a little over a half season Spies has already cracked into the top-20 on the all-time World Superbike wins list. He is tied with Fabrizio Pirovano and Chris Vermeulen for 18th all-time

Haga’s exit allowed Spies to trim a major portion of the point deficit to Haga. Coming into Donington Spies was 48 points behind in the standings. As the series takes a nearly month-long summer break Spies finds himself right back in the thick of the championship chase, just 14 points behind Haga. That sets up an exciting dash for the championship going into the final five rounds (10 races) primarily between Haga, Spies and Fabrizio.

The next World Superbike race is in Brno, Czech Republic on July 26. Spies said he would take a few days off to relax then get back to his rigorous training program.

In the U.S. both World Superbike races from Donington Park can be watched on SPEED today (Sunday, June 28) starting at 3:00 pm.

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