FIM Superbike World Championship Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah May 31, 2010 Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Max BIAGGI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 21 laps, 38:17.842 2. Leon CAMIER, Great Britain (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), -5.899 seconds 3. Cal CRUTCHLOW, Great Britain (Yamaha YZF-R1), -7.363 4. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Ducati 1098F10), -8.842 5. Troy CORSER, Australia (BMW S1000RR), -9.473 6. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -12.293 7. Shane BYRNE, Great Britain (Ducati 1098R), -12.483 8. Jonathan REA, Great Britain (Honda CBR1000RR), -15.959 9. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Ducati 1098F10), -18.897 10. Luca SCASSA, Italy (Ducati 1098R), -20.372 11. Ruben XAUS, Spain (BMW S1000RR), -26.823 12. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (Honda CBR1000RR), -30.344 13. Chris VERMEULEN, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -33.337 14. Tom SYKES, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -38.772 15. Broc PARKES, Australia (Honda CBR1000RR), -44.994 16. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Ducati 1098R), -3 laps, DNF, mechanical 17. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -6 laps, DNF, retired 18. James TOSELAND, Great Britain (Yamaha YZF-R1), -7 laps, DNF, crash 19. Roger HAYDEN, USA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -9 laps, DNF, crash 20. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), -14 laps, DNF, mechanical 21. Leon HASLAM, Great Britain (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -14 laps, DNF, crash World Championship Point Standings (After 14 of 26 races): 1. Biaggi, 257 points 2. Haslam, 242 3. Rea, 151 4. Checa, 141 5. Haga, 135 6. Toseland, 132 7. Corser, 127 8. Camier, 115 9. Crutchlow, 107 10. Fabrizio, 102 11. Guintoli, 95 12. Byrne, 81 13. Smrz, 61 14. Xaus, 53 15. Sykes, 42 16. Scassa, 40 17. Neukirchner, 31 18. Lanzi, 26 19. Vermeulen, 9 20. TIE, Sheridan Morais/Andrew Pitt, 3 22. TIE, Hayden/Josh Brookes/Parkes, 2 More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Biaggi Takes Third Double Win And Championship lead A remarkable day of unpredictable final outcomes and drama on track finally delivered two 21-lap race victories to Max Biaggi and his Aprilia Alitalia team at Miller Motorsports Park. Max now has a 15 point lead over Leon Haslam (Alstare Suzuki) but he may not have won a single race today had Althea Ducati privateer Carlos Checa not had his machine quit twice on him while leading. Checa had to content himself with two Pirelli awards for the fastest lap of each race and a new lap record of 1’48.045, set on lap four of race one. Biaggi made his third double win of the year, after similar feats at Portimao and Monza. Race One A two-rider fight for supremacy in race one suddenly became a clear victory for Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) as long time race leader Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) was forced to stop with a technical problem on lap 19 of the 21 laps. Almost five seconds behind Biaggi, championship leader Leon Haslam was second for Alstare Suzuki, and the final podium place was secured by the rejuvenated Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox). Leon Camier was in a podium position on his Aprilia Alitalia vee-four for most of the race, but could not keep Haslam and Haga behind on the final laps. Troy Corser was fifth for BMW Motorrad Motorsport, Shane Byrne a brilliant sixth on his Althea Ducati, having fought back from a very lowly position at the start. Luca Scassa, Sylvain Guintoli, James Toseland and Ruben Xaus rounded out the top ten finishers. Max Biaggi: “Very lucky. I think Checa deserved that race because he rode very hard. Honestly speaking he deserved it but racing is racing and sometimes these things happen. This time it was our turn. We had a very good pace and I am happy for me, my team and Aprilia.” Leon Haslam: “I didn’t get the best of starts I think I was about tenth away, and I got stuck behind Jakub Smrz when his engine blew and I was covered in quite a lot of oil, so I didn’t want to follow too close. I got a gift of second with Carlos breaking down, but we will take it.” Noriyuki Haga: “I have not had a good result at this track in the two previous years so I am happy to take third place. From the first lap my tyre feeling was not so good and I adjusted my riding style and I was happy to be able to finish third.” Results: 1. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 38’20.442 (161,260 km/h) (B/A); 2. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 4.931 (B/A); 3. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1198 6.432 (A/A); 4. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 8.576 (B/A); 5. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 11.150 (A/A); 6. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1198 11.243 (A/A); 7. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1198 12.432 (C/A); 8. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 15.145 (A/A); 9. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 16.091 (A/A); 10. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 16.502 (A/A); 11. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 18.719 (B/A); 12. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 24.285 (C/A); 13. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 36.479 (C/A); 14. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 39.700 (A/A); 15. Vermeulen C. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 41.253 (B/A); 16. Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 41.661 (B/A); 17. Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR1000RR 1’00.427 (A/A); 18. Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R a 4 giri (B/A) Pirelli: Race Tyre Selection (Front/Rear) Race Two With his main championship rival Leon Haslam crashing out of race two, Max Biaggi’s second win of the day for Aprilia put him 15 points in the lead. Carlos Checa once more stopped on the track while leading. Leon Camier had a career best of second on his Aprilia Alitalia machine and Cal Crutchlow took his Yamaha Sterilgarda bike to third place. This was the first time that two Aprilias have finished on the podium in a 1-2. In the championship Biaggi now has 257 points, Haslam 242 and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) 151. Behind the podium battle Haga was fourth, Corser fifth and Guintoli sixth. Shane Byrne went seventh and Jonathan Rea eighth. Checa leaves America on an unchanged 141 points, in fourth place, with Haga now only six points behind him. Rider Comments Max Biaggi: “We made a double win, and that was my dream. Before we came here, I was hoping and dreaming to make a double win. It is just what I need. I was also a little bit lucky because Checa had some trouble, but anyway this is 50 points, very helpful to me and my team. I’m happy for my team-mate too. This machine is only one and a half years old, and we developed the bike very, very strong. The engineers made a good job. I’m very happy for my Aprilia friends. The people understand this bike is a winning machine.” Leon Camier: “The start of the weekend didn’t go according to plan, really. I had a couple of crashes, and I sort of managed to turn it around for the second one. The first race we had a bit of a bad front tyre choice and maybe a bit of a setting thing. Yeah, the second one’s gone awesome, so massive thank you to Aprilia. They’ve done an awesome job as you can see. I think it’s Aprilia’s first 1-2 in Superbike. Max just had a bit more pace than me.” Cal Crutchlow: “I think we deserved that. In the first race we were unfortunate. We got caught up in somebody else’s crash and just ran off the track. I think we came back strongly the second race, and all credit to Max and Leon, they rode a superb race. I think we’ve turned it around. Yamaha has done a good job this weekend. It was a very similar race to what Ben ran here last year, and he won by nine seconds – so it shows how fast these guys are going.” Results : 1. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 38’17.842 (161,442 km/h); 2. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 5.899; 3. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 7.363; 4. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1198 8.842; 5. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 9.473; 6. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 12.293; 7. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1998 12.483; 8. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR 1000 RR 15.959; 9. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1198 18.897; 10. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1198 20.372; 11. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 26.823; 12. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR 1000 RR 30.344; 13. Vermeulen C. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10 R 33.377; 14. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 38.772; 15. Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR 1000 RR Pirelli Race Tyre Selection (Front/Rear): All riders on same solutions with the exception of Biaggi, Camier, Crutchlow, Xaus and Vermuelen who chose the “A” front for Race 2. Championship standings (after 7 Rounds of 13): 1. Biaggi 257; 2. Haslam 242; 3. Rea 151; 4. Checa 141; 5. Haga 135;6. Toseland 132; 7. Corser 127; 8. Camier 115; 9. Crutchlow 107; 10. Fabrizio 102 Manufacturers standings: 1. Aprilia 263; 2. Suzuki 252; 3. Ducati 214; 4. Honda 162; 5. Yamaha 158; 6. BMW 130; 7. Kawasaki 45 Supersport World Championship Kenan Wins Second of 2010 season Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) extended his championship lead to six points at Miller by recording his first race win since Portimao. He also took a new lap record of 1’51.702, on lap six. Kenan has now won 16 career races in this class, extending his record number of wins again. Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) was second today, just over a second behind Sofuoglu, with Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com) third, 1.673 seconds from the win. Chaz Davies (ParkinGo Triumph Be-1) won a tight battle for fourth, with Sofuoglu’s team-mate Michele Pirro fifth. In the championship, Sofuoglu has 142 points, Laverty 136, Lascorz 128 and Davies 84. Results: 1. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’51.879 (157,002 km/h); 2. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’52.097; 3. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’52.144; 4. Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’52.458; 5. Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 1’52.618; 6. Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 1’52.682; 7. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’52.870; 8. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’52.939; 9. Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 1’53.241; 10. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’53.404; 11. Lagrive M. (FRA) Triumph Daytona 675 1’53.622; 12. DiSalvo J. (USA) Triumph Daytona 675 1’53.837; 13. Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1’53.932; 14. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’54.425; 15. Odom T. (USA) Honda CBR600RR 1’54.704; 16. Lundh A. (SWE) Honda CBR600RR 1’55.096; 17. Chesaux B. (SUI) Honda CBR600RR 1’55.398; 18. Farrell J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’57.248; 19. Paris M. (USA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’59.202 Championship standings (after 7 Rounds of 13): 1. Sofuoglu 142; 2. Laverty 136; 3. Lascorz 128; 4. Davies 84; 5. Pirro 58; 6.Salom 58; 7. Rea 54; 8. Harms 51; 9. Fujiwara 48; 10. Lagrive 44 Manufacturers standings: 1. Honda 170; 2. Kawasaki 128; 3. Triumph 94 Pirelli Awards “All Superbike riders found the best performance from Pirelli’s newest “A” soft compound Diablo Superbike solutions, which yielded a 10 sec. race time improvement in Race 1 and a 13 sec. improvement in Race 2 versus last year, along with a new lap record of 1’48.045 set by Carlos Checa in R1 before being forced to retire with an electronics issue. Aprilia Racing’s change from the B to the A front tyre solution allowed the team to find a better feeling and to gain podium finishes for both riders. Optimal results also came in the Supersport race as a lap record was set by Kenan Sofuoglu and 6 of the 19 riders recorded their best laps in the last quarter of the race. Eugene Laverty was even able to reach within 0.1 sec of Sofuoglu’s new lap record of 1’51.702 on the very last lap of the race. The SBK race at Miller Motorsports Park is important for Pirelli since the track is still new with respect to tyre development and thus offers our already high-performing racing range new layer of versatility.” – Giorgio Barbier, Racing Director, Pirelli Moto Performance Awards: SBK Race 1 – Pirelli BEST LAP Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox Team), 1’38.170 (Lap 3) SBK Race 2 – Pirelli BEST LAP Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda), 1’38.658 (Lap 2) Total BEST LAP (SBK): Checa C. (Althea Racing): 3, Rea J. (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda): 3, Biaggi M. (Aprilia Alitalia Racing): 2, Haslam L. (Suzuki Alstare): 1, Guintoli S. (Suzuki Alstare): 1, Crutchlow C. (Yamaha World Superbike): 1, Fabrizio M. (Ducati Xerox Team): 1 WSS – Pirelli BEST LAP Kenan Sofuoglu (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda), 1’41.054 (Lap 3) Total BEST LAP (WSS): Laverty E. (Parkalgar Honda): 2, Sofuoglu K. (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda): 2, Pirro M. (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda): 1, Lascorz J. (Kawasaki Motocard.com): 1 More, from a press release issued by Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: Jonathan Rea took hard-earned 14th and eighth places finishes in today’s two seventh round World Superbike races at Miller Motorsports Park in the USA. His team-mate Max Neukirchner also struggled at the 4.907km circuit near Salt Lake City, placing 12th in the two 21-lap encounters. Both outings were won by Max Biaggi after early leader Carlos Checa ran into electrical problems, as Rea and Neukirchner complained of handling problems with their machines. Rea crashed at the beginning of lap three in the first race, but remounted in last place to begin a dogged fight back to 14th place at the flag and two championship points. However, changes to his front fork settings for race two did not improve his bike’s handling and the 23-year-old was forced to settle for eighth. Neukirchner suffered similar handling issues and, starting from 16th place on the grid, the German rider struggled to make any impact on the standings. T he Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team is now looking forward to an upcoming two-day test at Assen in The Netherlands, before heading for round eight of the championship at Misano, Italy on 25-27 June. Jonathan Rea 14th and 8th It’s quite hard to take many positives out of the weekend really. We’ve had big problems all weekend and nothing we tried did anything to fix them. We made a big and I mean BIG change to the front of the bike for race two, but the characteristics were exactly the same. Unfortunately, I’m missing the first day of our test at Assen because I’m riding in the 300km race at Suzuka, but there’s plenty for Max and the team to be working through. I really hope we can get something to take to the next race at Misano, because I have some great memories of that round last year. Max Neukirchner 12th and 12th We tried something different for the second race because in the first one the bike was pitching too much diving too fast under the brakes and coming up too quickly under acceleration. We thought the change would work but it didn’t, so we have another two disappointing results to take away from this race. I hope we can have two really positive days at the Assen test in two weeks, because there is a lot we need to get through. It’s frustrating because I know I can do better than what my results are showing. Ronald ten Kate team manager There is no hiding from the fact that this has been a bad weekend for us. With the chatter that both riders experienced, they could only ride around and make laps. We now have a two-day test at Assen where we will try quite a few new bits and pieces because we have to be in better shape at Misano. Having said that, Miller is the last race this year where we didn’t have sus pension data from Ohlins. We start at Misano with at least some reference points from last year. We hope that data will yield much better results for the rest of the season. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Salt Lake City – Races. Monday, 31 May 2010. Weather conditions: Overcast. Temperature: Air: 20 – 26 °C, Track: 20 – 44 °C Number of riders participating: 21 from 12 teams Fastest lap Race 1: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:48.045 min Fastest lap Race 2: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:48.148 min Twice from 15 to fifth: Troy Corser (AUS) scored two more top five finishes for Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport on Monday in Salt Lake City in the 2010 FIM Superbike World Championship. Team mate Ruben Xaus (ESP) finished tenth and 11th on the seventh race weekend in Utah. For the young team it was the second best result so far. In total, in 2010 the team has finished in the top five six times. In the manufacturers’ standings Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport has now scored 130 points and is in sixth. In 2009 after seven races the team had only scored 60 points. Troy has scored 127 points in the rider’s championship and is seventh, while Ruben is in 14th with 53 points. Race 1: Troy proved to be a great starter: Just before turn 1, he made it from 15th on the grid to fourth. He was passed by Leon Haslam (GBR) and Noriyuki Haga (JPN) on lap six. He finished the race fifth as Carlos Checa (ESP) had to retire. Ruben started well and was eighth after the first lap. He finished tenth. Race 2: Again, a rocket start for Troy – he jumped from 15th to third. Ruben made up four positions at the start. Unfortunately neither rider was able to maintain this position, and finally finished fifth and 11th respectively. Troy Corser: Bike: BMW S 1000 RR Result Race 1: 5th , Gap to 1st: 00:11.150 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:49.038 min Result Race 2: 5th , Gap to 1st: 00:09.473 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 1:48.432 min “Overall, we should be happy today. Nevertheless I was disappointed with the Superpole result as I had to start both races from the fourth row. In the first race I had to fight with chattering, and I had some trouble with the edge grip. We changed the rear spring and made a few adjustments. The bike definitely felt better, but the problem came back again when the tyre went away after a couple of laps. We now know what we have to improve.” Ruben Xaus: Bike: BMW S 1000 RR Result Race 1: 10th , Gap to 1st : 00:16.502 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:49.309 min Result Race 2: 11th , Gap to 1st : 00:26.823 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 1:49.132 min “To be honest I am disappointed with today. I got great starts in both races and I was right with the top guys. I just couldn’t do the times over the race distance. The team and I have worked tirelessly all weekend and made some real steps forward, but today we just couldn’t make it happen in the races. Still the team did a great job and I must thank them for that, and also compliments to Troy because he did so well. I just wish I could have been up there with him. I hope we can join him at the front in Misano.” Berthold Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director): “It is good to go back to Europe with two more top five results. After Sunday’s Superpole result I was not expecting to do as well as we did today. I am really happy with the performance from both Troy and Ruben. Nevertheless, we had some problems today, especially with tyre wear. We have to learn from that, and we know that we still have some work to do. Last year at this circuit in particular we struggled – so to achieve what we did today is a real step forward. Congratulations to the entire team once again for what they have achieved with a lot of hard work. I feel sorry for Carlos Checa who did a great job today but was very unlucky.” More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: HAGA (DUCATI XEROX) BACK ON THE PODIUM; THIRD IN RACE 1 AT SALT LAKE CITY Salt Lake City (USA), Monday 31st May : Ducati Xerox rider Noriyuki Haga returned to the podium today, with a third place finish in Race 1 at the Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City, a significant result as it is the first time that he has finished in the top three on this particular track. In the early morning’s brief warm-up session, Noriyuki proved that he was ready to race, demonstrating a consistently fast pace and registering the overall fastest time, while his team-mate Michel finished the twenty-minute warm-up in sixth position. In Race 1 neither Noriyuki nor Michel made a great start. After the first lap Noriyuki was lying in sixth position when Michel unexpectedly fell, losing the rear and thus closing his race almost immediately. Haga pushed on to arrive in fifth position, just behind Leon Camier and Leon Haslam; he remained in this position until the eighteenth lap when he was finally able to pass Camier. During the same lap race leader Carlos Checa’s bike came to a stop. Noriyuki moved up to third and held this position to the line. The podium finish is significant for Haga as in the last two years he had never managed to close in the top three on this particular track. The Ducati Xerox riders did not have an easy start to the second race either. Ruben Xaus touched Noriyuki’s bike right off the line which caused him to lose positions and precious time, while Michel found himself in fourteenth position at the end of the first lap. During lap six Haga got past Rea and, following the retirement of both Checa and Haslam from the race, he moved up to fifth, with Fabrizio in twelfth. Haga pushed hard, catching and passing Corser on the BMW in the closing stages. Even though his pace was still strong, time did not allow the Japanese rider to catch Crutchlow, meaning he had to settle for a final fourth position. At the end of the seventh round, Noriyuki is now fifth in the general standings with 135 points, while team-mate Michel is tenth (102 points). Ducati is still third in the manufacturers standings with 214 points. Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 3rd, Race 2 4th) “I’m really happy to be back on the podium today, but it wasn’t easy! At the start of Race 1 I was having trouble pushing but after a few laps the tyres picked up a bit and I was finally able to get past Camier in the final stages. It’s a great result and the first time I’ve been on the Miller podium. In Race 2 I had a similar feeling with my bike but the race was more difficult. I started badly and had to push so hard to make up the lost ground. In the last two years my weekends at Miller have been conditioned by crashes but this year I had a good feeling right from the first exit I made on Friday and this gave me confidence that a podium was possible. I’m satisfied and now we move on to Misano, a circuit where there is no long straight and where the Ducati could be very fast.” Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 DNF , Race 2 9th) “It’s a pity what happened to me in race 1. It was totally unexpected, my bike was sliding around at the rear and then, from one moment to the next, I found myself on the ground. In Race 2 I made a bad start, losing several positions and finding myself in the last group. I made up ground through the race but I wasn’t able to catch Rea and Byrne ahead of me and finished ninth. I hoped to do a lot better here in America but now we must turn our attention to the next round in Misano.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: United States World Superbike at Miller Motorsports Park Monday May 31 2010 World Superbike and World Supersport race report 4.907km circuit – attendance 55,000 all weekend – claimed Weather: Dry, sunny Temperature 20 to 23 ambient, 27 to 39 track REA NOW A CLEAR THIRD AT THE SEASON MIDPOINT Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea had two very busy 21-lap races at Miller Motorsports Park, crashing and remounting in one and fighting for every point in the second to move into a clear third place in the championship. Jonathan was 12th in race one and eighth in race two, brave rides as he suffered a horror crash in Superpole, when he fell and was run over by his own machine. He suffered tyre burns on his chest and neck, making his job on raceday an uncomfortable one. With seven rounds gone and six to go this year, the championship crossed into the second half of the season at Miller and Jonathan is now ten points clear of Carlos Checa. Checa led both races today until his machine stopped each time, leaving Max Biaggi to secure a double win and the championship lead, 257 points to Leon Haslam’s 242. Rea has 151, Checa 141. In race one Rea fell on lap four, before restarting 19th and last, making it up to 12th at the flag. Hannspree Ten Kate Superbike rider Max Neukirchner had qualified 16th but went 12th in race one. ECHO CRS Honda’s Broc Parkes made the first part of Superpole, 19th, but missed out on points in race one. Rea’s fighting spirit was needed again for long periods of race two, but he ended up on his own in eighth position after a second hard race, battling against chatter. Neukirchner was 12th again in race two, Parkes 15th, for a single championship point. Pole Man Sofuoglu Secures Win To Extend Championship Lead Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) took his tenth career Supersport World Championship pole in qualifying at Miller, before winning his 16th career race and improving his championship lead from one point to six points. Eugene Laverty Parkalgar Honda took the holeshot from the second grid spot and looked like he may have been able to run clear for his fourth win in succession. Finally, he could not handle the sheer pace of Sofuoglu, who won by only a second after slowing slightly to celebrate on the final straight. A close but evenly spaced race for the podium places saw the top three all covered by 1.673 seconds at the flag and Kawasaki rider Joan Lascorz third. In the overall championship standings, Sofuoglu has 142 points, Laverty 136 and Lascorz 128. Honda now leads the Manufacturers’ Standings by 42 points. A multi-rider fight for fourth place saw Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Michele Pirro fifth, two places higher than his qualifying position despite a late change to his number two bike. Gino Rea from the Intermoto Czech Honda team was in the big fight for fourth until the latter stages of the 18-lap race, having qualified 11th yet finishing ninth. Massimo Roccoli qualified 13th and finished 13th, after having to miss the final qualifying session and warm-up because of small technical issues. His injured shoulder was not too much of a handicap to him today, but he was unable to push his way forward until later in the race. Parkalgar Honda rider Miguel Praia had a similar experience to Roccoli; finishing in the same position he qualified in, 14th. He was boxed in for the first few corners and lost a lot of time, ending up in a lonely race, 41 seconds from the win. Misano is the next round for both Superbike and Supersport riders, on Sunday 27th June. WSBK Rider Quotes Jonathan Rea, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: 14th and 8th – 3rd overall. “Hard work was an understatement today. No matter what we did this weekend we have not fixed our chatter problem. My crash in race one had the exact same type of characteristic as my crash in Superpole. I came here with high hopes, but we are now third and we are heading for some tracks I like. I really hope we can get something to take to the next race at Misano, because I have some great memories of that round last year.” Max Neukirchner, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: 12th and 12th – 17th overall. “The whole weekend we had chatter, and we changed all the settings on the bike and it was not much different. We have some tests in Assen in a couple of weeks and we will try to find a new way.” Broc Parkes, ECHO CRS Honda: 17th and 15th – 24th overall. “We still struggled with the same problems with chatter and we need to get back to Europe and try some set-up changes. We tried something a little bit different in race two and it was a little bit better but we are not where we want to be at the minute.” WSS Rider Comments Kenan Sofuoglu, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: 1st – 1st overall. “Big thanks to my team because on Saturday we had a big problem on the bike. My focus has been on winning all weekend and after Eugene got away at the start I was able to catch and pass him. After that I just worked hard to control the race and keep the gap between me and him. I am very happy for this win and I will be working hard with the team for another in Misano.” Eugene Laverty, Parkalgar Honda 2nd – 2nd overall. “That was a nice race at the beginning as I got the holeshot. Kenan put some fast laps and went by me so I tried to re-pass him, but then he just disappeared. My bike became a little bit better as the race wore on but I had some chatter right at the end. Kenan rode fantastically well and I could not keep in touch with him, so 20 points for second is more than enough.” Michele Pirro, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: 5th – 5th overall. “We changed bikes today because of an electrical problem, just before the race. The spare bike had the same set-up but maybe the engine was a bit less. I was able to do some consistent laps and I was happy with the result.” Gino Rea, Intermoto Czech Honda: 9th – 7th overall. “The first half was pretty good and we got into a battle with the right group. I tried to sit with the group but a bike came past me so I tried to keep its pace. I went a tiny bit wide in a couple of places and lost the tow to the group in front.” Massimo Roccoli, Czech Intermoto Honda: 13th – 12th overall. “The Clinica Mobile helped me a lot after my crash in Kyalami and for the race I was OK. It was a hard weekend, because in second qualifying and warm-up I could not ride because of small problems. My result in the race was not so good but we had new parts for the front forks and they seem to be working in a good way. That should help us in the rest of the championship.” Miguel Praia, Parkalgar Honda: 14th – 13th overall. “The pace was more or less what we expected, but just in the first three or four laps I was held up after being blocked in the first corner.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike rider Cal Crutchlow put in a mature performance at Miller Motorsports Park today, maximising the top speed and power of his Yamaha YZF-R1 to take a hard fought podium with third in the second race. Having started from third and then initially dropping back to sixth he fought back up, chasing down a number of riders before closing in on BMW rider Troy Corser and passing him for the third spot which he held to the line. Race one proved unlucky for Crutchlow, After an initial drop off the line to seventh in race one, he put his head down and started to reel in sixth place rider Johnny Rea. As he put the pressure on, Rea crumbled, crashing out on lap three and forcing Crutchlow wide and off the track to avoid him. The Yamaha rider recovered and got back on track but had dropped to 13th, with a big gap to the riders in front. Despite the setback he put his head down, taking two positions to cross the line in 11th. Crutchlow’s recovery was helped by the impressive top speed of the Yamaha YZF-R1, scoring the highest speed of any rider on the circuit with 311km/hr recorded. Crutchlow’s performance has continued to improve over the season, the rider’s impressive consistent fast pace and race craft only restricted from delivering better results so far by incidents out of his control. Rea’s crash today, the stone from Biaggi’s wheel in Monza and the issues with grip in Kyalami have prevented him from being further up the championship standings. Team mate James Toseland put in a solid performance today in the first of the two Miller WSB races despite being one of the few riders on the grid never to have ridden here before. Starting from a less than perfect 14th on the grid he worked his way through the pack to take a lonely seventh by lap four. The British rider was gradually closing in on sixth until a dramatic drop in tyre grip over the last few laps saw him drop to ninth at the chequered flag. Despite a strong start in the second race and again fighting from 14th up to sixth, it ended prematurely for him when he lost the front end with six laps to go after coming into a corner carrying too much speed. Following from Crutchlow’s highest recorded speed in race one, Toseland took the honours in race two, delivering the highest top speed of the race, 308.4km/hr. Crutchlow leaves Salt Lake City with 107 points having moved up from tenth to ninth in the championship standings, just eight points behind Leon Camier in eighth. Team mate Toseland heads to the next round at the Misano circuit having dropped one place from fifth to sixth, currently standing on 132 points, nineteen points off Rea in third. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (11th, 3rd) “I think the first race should have been the same as the second one, unfortunately I got caught up in Johnny’s crash and lost some valuable places. We’ve not had the pace of Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi this weekend, they did a fantastic job. I tried my hardest and I think we’ve done the best job we can. All credit to the Yamaha guys we’ve worked really hard for this result.” James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (9th, DNF) “A frustrating weekend for me. We started really well here and I got down to some pretty decent times relatively quickly in the first practices so was feeling confident for the races. Superpole didn’t go quite as planned so I had a less than perfect grid start position. I managed a good start in the first race and was making up places but unfortunately I ran out of grip several laps from the end which slowed me down. It took me a while to get into a good pace in race two, but as I was picking up I came out of one corner too fast and so was too hot into the next, resulting in losing the front end. The team have worked really hard all weekend and I’m sorry I couldn’t deliver them a better result today.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager “I think Cal did two really good races. Unfortunately in the first he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when Rea crashed in front of him so he did well to stay on and stay in the points. He showed a really good pace. In the second race he did the best that was possible, to get a podium after a tough weekend is good for the team. I am sorry for James, his crash was unfortunate and he put in a good effort in the first race.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Solid Points in Each Race for Tom and Chris WSBK, Salt Lake City, USA Kawasaki Racing Team riders Tom Sykes and Chris Vermeulen scored points in each Miller Motorsports Park race today, maintaining their championship positions. The riders also improved on their qualifying positions in each race, as they got to grips with the big and fast corners at Miller, during another intense day of race action in the Superbike World Championship. In the first 21-lap contest Sykes was 13th in a lone race in the last laps. Chris was 15th, unlucky to lose a place on the last lap. In the second race, with track temperatures much higher than in race one, Chris was 14th at the start of the race, finally scoring 13th place, one ahead of Tom. Sykes had tangled with another rider early on and was down to 19th at one stage. Tom is still 15th overall, now on 42 points, Chris 19th on nine. The next round is at Misano on 27 June. Tom Sykes: “We started the weekend in good shape but although we were consistent with lap times and we improved on last year’s times, it was still not fast enough. I had a decent launch in both races but in race two I got tangled up with a Ducati rider and lost a few places, which put us in a disastrous 19th place. Middle race distance we struggled with handling into the long left-handed corners but I fought back as hard as I could to finish within the points. I guess that is a positive from the weekend. I’m sorry for the boys but I did the best I could and I look forward to getting things back-on track and running nearer the front at Misano.” Chris Vermeulen: “A difficult weekend but we scored points in both races. It was my first time here and we improved the bike all weekend. At a circuit like this with really long corners we struggled to make the turns and we do not have the fastest bike right now. We have some work to do still. We made some changes race one to race two because I struggled with front tyre durability again, and we made it a lot better. Consistency and speed was faster, and I think that I was eight seconds nearer the front. That was a good step forward for us.” More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: A dry track and warm conditions at the Miller Motorsport Park in Salt Lake City today for the seventh round of the World Superbike championship. Due to the results achieved during yesterday qualifying sessions and Superpole, Hayden started from the fifth row and Baiocco from the sixth. In race one not a good start for Baiocco who was forced to re-enter the box due to a faulty tyre. The team’s technicians changed the tyre in few minutes and Matteo was able to rejoin the race, ending in eighteenth position. Hayden obtained the sixteenth place close the points zone. In race two Hayden crashed near to the middle of the race when he was fighting with two Kawasaki official riders Vermeulen and Sykes. After a quick start Baiocco didn’t find the right feeling with his bike and so he preferred to end his race to avoid a possible crash. Superbike race 1 – : 1) Biaggi (Aprilia) 2) Haslam (Suzuki) – 3) Haga (Ducati) 4) Camier (Aprilia)- 5) ..”¦16) Hayden (Kawasaki) 17) Parkes (Honda) – 18) Baiocco (Kawasaki) Superbike race 2 : 1) Biaggi (Aprilia) 2) Camier (Aprilia) – 3) Crutchlow (Yamaha) 4) Haga (Ducati) 5) Corser (BMW) “¦”¦. RET Hayden (Kawasaki) – RET Baiocco (Kawasaki) Roger Lee Hayden :” I am really disappointed with today’s results. Starting from the last rows always makes life difficult, but in the second race, after the first few opening laps, the bike felt great and I was able to make some fast laps. During the middle of the race I had a bit of a battle with Vermeulen and Sykes and I tried to overtaking them but I crashed and I was not able to restart. I’m sorry for the team and I want to thank them for setting things up so well on the machine. We still have some set up problems but overall I’m sure that during the next weeks my team will continue to work on the bike’s setting in order to be ready for next Misano races”. Matteo Baiocco : “Starting from the sixth row was always going to be tough for Superbike races. In race one my start was not so good and near to the middle of the race I began to have problems with my rear tyre. I couldn’t ride my bike as I would have liked. I re-entered the box where my mechanics changed the tyre very quickly and I was able to rejoin the race also to test my bike thinking to the second race. For race two we changed the tyres and we tried a different setting. My start was pretty good and I worked hard to make my way forward, but I was not able to find the right feeling with my bike and I couldn’t push any further. I’m disappointed with my results this weekend and I’m eager to improve my results in the next round. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Alstare: LEON TAKES A SUPERB PODIUM IN RACE ONE. SYLVAIN’S BEST PERFORMANCE SINCE ROUND ONE. Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam suffered the ups and downs of racing in the seventh round of this year’s Superbike World Championship at the Miller Motorsports Park today. He took a hard-fought for runner-up sport in the first race and then had battled up to sixth place in race two after a poor start, but was then highsided from his GSX-R1000 and crashed out of the race. He got a lift back to the pits and then went to the Clinica Mobile where he had seventeen stitches put into his left arm just above his elbow. Fortunately he suffered no other injuries and will be fit for the next round in Misano towards the end of June. His team mate Sylvain Guintoli had his best raceday of the year since the opening round in Australia back in February. He battled for eighth in race one and then took a superb sixth in race two. Carlos Checa (Ducati) should have won both races today, but two retirements when he had been comfortably in the lead, ruined the Spaniard’s hopes of glory. Checa’s misfortune was Max Biaggi’s gain. Once Checa pulled out, the Italian was able to race to the flag unchallenged and take his third double of the season and leapfrog Leon in the standings. Leon – Race 1: 2nd, Race 2: DNF Obviously I am very disappointed how the day ended. Crashing out is bad enough, but losing the championship lead is another. I always knew that today was going to be very hard and the races proved that. I was fortunate to get second place in race one and unfortunate to crash in race two. Carlos (Checa) should’ve won both races and I feel a bit sorry for him. He had led both, but then had to pull out. As a result, Max got lucky, but racing is like that sometimes. I didn’t make particularly good starts today and maybe that caused some of the problems. In race one, I was right behind Jakub (Smrz) when his Ducati blew up. I and the front of my Suzuki got covered in oil and I tried to use a different line to him so that I wouldn’t crash on his oil. I think I was stuck behind him for over a lap, but luckily he pulled off the track and I was able to get my head down and chase after the leaders. I moved through the field and got into third and happy with that until Carlos stopped and I was gifted second. I was tenth at the end of the first lap in race two and once again I had a lot of work to do to catch the leaders. I managed to get up to sixth after seven laps, but then the bike suddenly let go at one of the hairpins and I was highsided. I had a load of stitches put into my left arm, just above the elbow, but I will be OK for Misano. Sylvain – Race 1: 8th, Race 2: 6th Today was a much better day for me and I am happy because I think I managed to find a good rhythm and race pace – all this on my first time at this track. I had some little clutch problems in race one and starting from way down the grid is never easy, so I don’t think eighth was too bad considering. My pace in the second race was a lot better and I enjoyed fighting with the other riders as I moved up the field. Today was my best result since Australia and it’s about time I got back to being competitive. Now I want to build on this, keep up the good work and push hard right from the first practice in the next round and so be in a better place on the grid at the start of raceday.