FIM Superbike World Championship Portimao, Portugal October 25, 2009 Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098F09), 22 laps, 38:19.654 2. Noriyuki HAGA (Ducati 1098 F09), -1.195 seconds 3. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR1000RR), -1.494 4. Shane BYRNE (Ducati 1098R), -5.553 5. Ben SPIES (Yamaha YZF-R1), -5.842 6. Max BIAGGI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), -7.374 7. Leon CAMIER (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), -9.658 8. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098R), -10.434 9. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), -17.010 10. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -24.509 11. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -27.195 12. Broc PARKES (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -34.825 13. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Honda CBR1000RR), -35.135 14. Luca SCASSA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -61.842 15. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R1), -69.782 16. Makoto TAMADA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -90.818 17. David SALOM (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -4 laps, pitted 18. Matteo BAIOCCO (Ducati 1098R), -7 laps, DNF, crash 19. Leon HASLAM (Honda CBR1000RR), -14 laps, DNF, retired 20. Carlos CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR), -15 laps, DNF, mechanical 21. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), -15 laps, DNF, crash 22. Fonsi NIETO (Ducati 1098R), -15 laps, DNF, retired 23. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Honda CBR1000RR), -19 laps, DNF, mechanical FIM Superbike World Championship Final Point Standings (after 28 of 28 races): 1. Spies, 462 points 2. Haga, 456 3. Fabrizio, 382 4. Biaggi, 319 5. Rea, 315 6. Haslam, 241 7. Carlos Checa, 209 8. Byrne, 192 9. Sykes, 176 10. Smrz, 169 11. Ryuichi Kiyonari, 141 12. Kagayama, 128 13. Corser, 96 14. Shinya Nakano, 86 15. Regis Laconi, 77 16. Max Neukirchner, 75 17. Xaus, 74 18. Parkes, 51 19. Lagrive, 34 20. Camier, 32 More, from a press release issued by Larry Lawrence, Ben Spies’ publicist: SPIES WINS WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP 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. More, from a press release issued by series promoter Infront: PORTIMAO ROUND 14 23/24/25 OCTOBER 2009 Portimao, Sunday 25th October 2009 2009 World Superbike: Spies came, saw and conquered! 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 More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Round 14 – Portimao Sunday Oct 25 2009Round 14 – Portimao A COURAGIOUS NORIYUKI HAGA (DUCATI XEROX) LOSES THE WORLD SUPERBIKE TITLE BY 6 POINTS AT PORTIMAO; FABRIZIO WINS RACE 2 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 More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: Haslam charges hard but ends final round without points Leon Haslam took a impressive sixth place finish in the 2009 World Superbike Championships with his rookie Stiggy Racing Honda team. 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.” More, from a press release issued by Team Sterilgarda: Shakey barely missed the podium twice today as he ended the season with two fourth places and engaged in a duel which pretty much decided the championship’s outcome. Today’s results enabled him to take eighth place in the standings from Tom Sykes. It was a prestigious result after only a season in World Superbikes. Byrne started battling for the podium from the first laps in race 1 until the end. He first got in a duel with Rea and then with Biaggi but finished just 4 tenths of a second off the podium. In race 2, he put in a great performance as he got a great start and took the lead for which he battled with Rea for three quarters of the race. He gave it his all but had to up the pace due to worn tyres and finished fourth yet again after being overtaken by Fabrizio and, in the end, by Haga who was trying to win the title. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 4th, 4th: “I gave it my all in both races and I would’ve really enjoyed finishing on the podium but it was honestly impossible for me to do better than this. The team did a great job the entire weekend, the bike peformed very well and so I was able to compete with the factory riders for the top positions. I’ d like to thank all the members of the team who worked really hard this season so I could finish eighth in the riders’ standings”. MARCO BORCIANI – team manager: “Shakey was fantastic today, he proved his talent. I hope I’ll be able to work alongside him next season as well. He is a great rider and a great teammate. I’d also like to thank all the team’s collaborators. We ended well a very positive season during which we established ourselves as one of the best private teams”. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea took an impressive double podium in today’s final two World Superbike championship races at Portimao in Portugal. The races were won by Ben Spies, who wrapped up the riders’ championship, and Michel Fabrizio. Rea finished second in race one after moving up from fourth place in the opening laps and passing Max Biaggi, his rival for fourth place in the series, on lap 16 of 22. It was Rea’s first second place finish of the season. In a dramatic race two, the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland battled for the lead initially with Shane Byrne and then Michel Fabrizio, but missed a gear into Portimao’s hairpin on the final lap, gifting victory to the Italian and ending up in third place behind Noriyuki Haga. Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Carlos Checa, had a frustrating day and finished the first outing in seventh place, while a technical problem forced the Spaniard out of contention of lap eight of race two. Jonathan Rea 2nd and 3rd I enjoyed the first race, although I was on my own for a lot of the time until I caught Biaggi and he ended up running wide. That was good for my championship position and it’s what I was going for in the second race. I ended up in a bit of a fight with Michel [Fabrizio] but ended up making a mistake on the last lap and allowing him past. All in all, it’s been my best Superbike weekend with a double podium and I’m really happy because the bike’s in good shape to go into next year. I’d like to congratulate Ben on his fabulous job this year and thank my team for working so hard to make this season fantastic for me, too. Carlos Checa 7th and DNF Not a great way to end a nice association with the Ten Kate team. Race one was very frustrating because we suffered from the same problems we had during qualifying yesterday. In race two, we improved the bike a little, going a little bit softer in the rear and changing the tyre. It definitely made things better because while everyone else’s pace was slower than in the first race, I was able to improve my lap times. I was just passing Kagayama when I had a problem with the engine and the race was finished. It’s been a great experience, and it’s been great to see the team working better and better all season. Ronald ten Kate team manager I think we can easily say that we got the big final race that everyone wanted. Congratulations to Ben Spies on the title, he’s done a good a job this season for sure. We finished as the top Honda team this season, so we’ll all enjoy a quiet drink tonight and start preparing for 2010 first thing tomorrow morning. Carlos had a frustrating day and we’re sorry for him, especially in race two. Jonathan had a good day, though, and was riding a top second race, apart from a little mistake which cost him victory. But he definitely deserves an ‘A’ for effort! More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT HAPPY WITH THEIR FIRST YEAR AND LOOKING FORWARD TO 2010. Despite bad luck in Portimao today, Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport are more than happy with their first year in the Superbike World Championship and are already looking forward to 2010. The team always knew that this year was going to be hard, but Troy, Ruben and the whole team have performed better than many expected in their first year of World Superbike competition, taking seventeen top finishes during the season. The bad luck today, once again befell Ruben Xaus. He was behind Carlos Checa (Honda) in race two, when Checa’s engine blew up and showered the front of Ruben’s bike with oil. Ruben saw the oil, but there was no time to take avoiding action and he was highsided between turns one and two, breaking his right leg in the process. Ruben had only recently come back from injury, so today’s accident was a hard blow for him and the team, but despite that he was soon back in the garage smiling and telling the team how much the bike has improved. Troy also had some bad luck today in race one, when a severe case of chattering forced him to pull into the pits and change the rear tyre. He later returned to the pits and changed the front tyre, but the problem persisted and he was unable to get into the points. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) won the first race and, with previous championship leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) crashing out, went into race two with a healthy 15-point series lead. Second was Jonathan Rea (Honda), with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third. Race two was won by Michel Fabrizio (Ducati), and although Haga was second, Spies took fifth place and, with it, the 2009 World Superbike Championship title. Troy – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 9th I had a big problem with chattering in the first race and pitted twice to change first the rear tyre and then again to change the front. However, the problem carried on, so I just had to keep going as best I could to give some info to the engineers. We’re not actually sure if it was a problem with the tyres or something else, but no doubt the guys will look at all the data and sort it out. I used my number two bike for the second race and it had only done a handful of laps so I wasn’t as familiar with it as my number one bike. It felt OK up until about half race distance, but then the grip went and the bike started spinning quite a bit. I couldn’t get enough forward push without it spinning and that prevented me from pushing any harder. There are some areas we need to work on, but it’s hard trying different things during a race weekend when you also have to qualify well. Some of the problems only happen after a tyre has done 12-15 laps and we don’t often do long runs in practice because we are trying to get a good bike set-up. Today has been a bit frustrating because the bike is improving, but sometimes it improves and then we get a new problem to solve. We just need more time on the bike and more laps, but I really feel that the bike has the potential to be a contender and I am keen to work hard with the team and make that happen. Ruben – Race 1: 8th, DNF Just an unlucky day for me, or maybe it has been an unlucky season. Checa’s bike blew up and covered the front of my bike with oil and obviously some of it went on to the front tyre. That caused the crash, so I am happy that the crash wasn’t my fault, but I am unhappy with the result. This season has been hard for us all, but we knew that before the start and it is thanks to all the hard work everybody has put in that we have had so many top ten finishes. Considering that this is our first season, I think we should be happy about what we have achieved so far – and there’s much more to come, I’m sure of it. The bike has improved since the last time I rode it and that makes me eager to find out how much more I can push it. The team are fantastic and the team spirit has been superb right from the start. It’s not nice ending the season with a broken leg, but there was nothing I could do about the crash and I prefer to think about the potential of the bike and working with Troy and the rest of the team to put it on the podium. Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director) The season has been a long, hard one, but the time has gone very quickly and I am surprised that we have now come to the end. It has been a wonderful experience and one of the most exciting years of my life. I’m sorry about the stupid crash that caused Ruben to break his leg, but these things happen in racing and it was good to see him back in our pits chatting away to the team about how the bike is right now, instead of talking about his injury. We managed seventeen top ten finishes this year and I think you can say that is ‘mission accomplished’. We’ve had ups and downs and have not been far off the podium at times and that is a testament to the potential of the bike. We know we have to improve in some areas and I can assure you that this will happen before next season begins. This is our ‘rookie’ year and I think the whole team can feel happy and proud about our first season. I would like to thank Troy, Ruben, all the mechanics, engineers, InFront, Pirelli, all the background staff, and all our sponsors for all their hard work and support in a great first season. I would also like to congratulate Ben Spies and Yamaha for taking the world title this year. Spies has shown what a class act he is and his team have supported him well throughout the season and they deserve the title. Final thanks also, to all our competitors this year, for making our life difficult, but also for making us work harder and keep improving. See you all next year! More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY ENDS WITH HIS 12TH TOP TEN FINISH OF THE SEASON Despite a disappointing no-score in race one in Portimao today, Troy bounced back to take his twelfth top ten finish of the year in race two. This is BMW’s rookie season and S 1000 RR bike is a completely new bike this year so, all things considered, this year has been a tremendous start to their WSBK challenge. Troy had problems with chattering in the first race and was forced to pit twice and change his tyres. But the problem persisted and he was unable to score any points. He used his number two bike in race two, as the team weren’t sure of the cause of Troy’s problem in race one, and although he didn’t experience the same problems, the bike began to spin after about half race distance and he couldn’t ride it any harder. Ben Spies (Yamaha) took a win in race one and a fifth in race two and that was enough to give him the Superbike World title, as Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) had no-scored in race one. Jonathan Rea (Honda) finished second in the first race, with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third. It was a Ducati 1-2 in the second race, with Michel Fabrizio taking the win, ahead of team mate Haga. Rea took third, with Shane Byrne (Ducati) fourth and Spies fifth. Troy – Race 1: DNF, race 2: 9th I guess I am a bit disappointed with how today went because the bike has improved and I really wanted two good finishes and end the season on a high. But considering everything and the fact that the bike is brand new and this is the team’s first year, I think we should all be happy about how it has gone. The bike has potential for sure and we’re really not far away from where we want to be. It’s not easy developing the bike during a race weekend and I think we just need more laps and more time on the bike, so we can solve any problems we find. At the start of the year the power delivery was a bit aggressive and the team worked hard to make the bike more rideable and user friendly. Ruben and I noticed a big improvement in July and since then the improvement has continued. I am ready to put in heaps of laps before next season because I know that the bike can get on the podium. With a bit of luck, that might have happened this year, but we all know that next year it is more than a possibility and that’s what we will be fighting for right from the first time out. More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: SBK, RACE 2: BIAGGI FOURTH IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP, APRILIA FOURTH AMONG MANUFACTURERS The heat became unbearable at the Portimao circuit and for Race 2 drivers and team members were forced to review their choices with respect to the first race. Michel Fabrizio, on his Ducati Factory, won the race with a 1:195 lead over his teammate Haga, and a 1:494 lead with respect to Rea’s Honda. Byrne started off very well, followed by Spies, Biaggi and Rea while Haga and Fabrizio were slightly slower. The English driver drove the first part of the race with his fellow countryman on the Honda right behind him, as well as Fabrizio, who managed an excellent recovery. Halfway through the race, Biaggi caught up to them, but an error caused him to lose ground which he then regained and then lost once more due to another “overshot” at the fifth curve. During the final laps, Haga passed Byrne and caught up with Rea who he passed, finishing in second place right behind his teammate. Spies’ fifth place finish ruined his recovery for the title by just six points. Max Biaggi finished just behind the new world champion, ending up in fourth place in the overall classification, the same position occupied by Aprilia in the Manufacturer’s Championship during the debut season for the revolutionary RSV4. Leon Camier finished in seventh place, right behind the best drivers. Starting off well from the thirteenth position, Leon immediately found a good pace that allowed him to recover several positions, making it to seventh place by the eighth lap and managing to keep Corser and then Smrz under control without too much effort. “It was a rough race,” declared Biaggi. “We made some changes to the bike after Race 1 and they didn’t help us so it was really a shame because we could have had a good result. I started off well and I tried to stay in the lead, but it was really difficult, the problems from the first race were accentuated and I made a lot of errors. Then, my physical condition made the situation worse because in order to try to recover, I had to make a lot more effort. In any case, I’m very happy because I managed to hold on to fourth place in the overall rankings, which is an excellent result, both for me and for Aprilia during this debut year. Together we reached a goal that even the most optimistic of fans couldn’t have predicted.” “I gave it my all in both races,” said Camier, “and we achieved two good placements. In Race 1 I started off well and during the first three laps I was very aggressive while trying to recover positions, I made a few mistakes but they helped me to better understand the bike and to drive it better. In Race 2 I was much less aggressive, I immediately set a good pace and I made fewer errors. I’m happy about how things went also because at the end of the races I was able to hold off competitors that have much more experience than me.” More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Kawasaki: PARKES AND TAMADA SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST…! 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.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Points And Drama On Final Raceday Of The Year WSBK, Portimao, Portugal, 25 October 2009 Both Broc Parkes and Makoto Tamada scored points on their Kawasaki Ninja ZX10R machines in Portugal, with Parkes twice getting on the board and Tamada taking points in race one. In race one a thrilling fight between the Kawasaki team-mates saw Parkes just edge it and take 11th place, only a fraction of a second ahead of Tamada. In race two, Parkes was again in strong form, and rode to 12th, feeling he had more grip in the second 22-lap outing. Tamada ended his year with a bizarre experience, as he could not avoid running to the back of another rider’s machine when it suddenly slowed on the main straight in race two. Unknown to Makoto, his front wheel rim had been completely buckled and broken by the impact, but with the contact between tyre and bead still intact,allowing him to continue to ride. Despite the vibration caused by the damage, Tamada continued to make laps hoping to take even a single point. He was 16th, and just missed adding to his score. The final championship rankings for the Kawasaki pairing see Parkes 18th, on 51 points, while Makoto is 27th, on 12 points. Broc Parkes: “The first race we didn’t have much grip form the start so I couldn’t do much to push into the top ten. I had some good middle battles and was happy enough to finish in eleventh with some solid points. Second race I felt the bike was better and we had more grip with more consistent lap times but with less front-runners dropping out the best I could do was 12th. I felt that we’ve hit a bit of a wall at 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.” 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, the first for 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. This is 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.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: REA FIFTH OVERALL AFTER TWO PODIUMS IN PORTUGAL Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) finished the 2009 World Superbike championship as top Honda rider, in overall fifth place, partly thanks to second and third place finishes today in Portimao. Rea, fourth in Superpole and therefore starting from the front row, was not quite able to get into contention with pole man and early leader Ben Spies in race one, but finished only 1.697 seconds down at the flag. In race two Rea was leading near the end of the race, after an aggressive and controlled ride, but dropped from first to third on the final lap. Again he was less than two seconds from the winner, this time Michel Fabrizio. Jonathan ended the season with 315 points in total, narrowly missing fourth place by just four points. The championship itself was decided in the very last round, with Ben Spies taking a win and a fifth place, and with it the overall title in his rookie year, by only six points from Noriyuki Haga. Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR) saw his first race end in a crash after he had also fallen in warm-up and needed several stitches in a right elbow injury. He had qualified fifth but fell when he accidentally changed gear in a corner. In race two he had to retire, scoring two DNFs for the day, but holding onto his overall sixth place, and 241 points. Race one delivered Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) nine points for his seventh place finish, having started the race from only 12th place on the grid. In the second 22-lap contest he had to retire on lap eight. Seventh overall is his final reward. Matthieu Lagrive (Honda Althea CBR1000RR) posted ninth in race one and 13th in race two, and despite doing only a handful of races he took 19th place in the final rankings. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) could not overcome the effects of his recently broken collarbone and despite riding on Friday he withdrew before final qualifying. He ends the season 11th overall. WSS LAVERTY WINS THE RACE BUT NARROWLY LOSES THE TITLE FIGHT Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) had an almost immaculate Supersport race weekend at his team’s home circuit of Portimao, winning the 20-lap race, securing pole position, and finishing the season only seven points from the championship win. Some 19 points behind new champion Cal Crutchlow entering the 14th and final round of the season, championship rookie Laverty rode his heart out to win by 3.443 seconds from 2007 World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR). With Crutchlow riding to a safe fourth, Laverty had to settle for second in the championship battle. Laverty’s fourth win of the year contributed to Honda winning the Manufacturers’ Title, by 13 points after 14 rounds. Sofuoglu was a clear and clean second in this race, having qualified fourth and therefore starting from the front row. The winner at this race last year, he ran hard through the entire 20-laps, but he was unable to touch the real race pace of Laverty in what were hot and dry race conditions. Sofuoglu finished his year third overall, after new lap record holder Joan Lascorz retired with a technical problem. Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) moved up to sixth in the championship, after finishing today’s race 11th. He had qualified 11th, but could not get his machine to turn the way he wanted to in race conditions. A ninth place in qualifying was translated into fifth in the race by Mark Aitchison (Althea Honda CBR600RR) and he ends the year ninth overall. For Portuguese rider Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) his home round placed him tenth, not the result he looked for but also another strong points score for his team after a bad start to today’s race. He was 15th overall. Flavio Gentile (Althea Honda CBR600RR) finished in 19th place and out of the points today. Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR) was unable to ride at Portimao and finished the year seventh overall. SBK Rider Comments Jonathan Rea: “This is my best weekend so far in the season, and I have to thank the team for all the help this year to get me to this point. In the second race I had real good fun with Michel Fabrizio but I had my own championship battle to worry about against Biaggi. I pushed really hard and wanted to win that race badly to finish off the season on a high note, but congratulations to Michel, he rode a great race. I am already thinking about coming back next year and I’m really looking to it.” Leon Haslam: “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.” Carlos Checa: “Race one was very frustrating because we suffered from the same problems we had during qualifying yesterday. In race two, we improved the bike a little, going a little bit softer in the rear and changing the tyre. It definitely made things better because while everyone else’s pace was slower than in the first race, I was able to improve my lap times. I was just passing Kagayama when I had a problem with the bike and the race was finished.” Ryuichi Kiyonari: “You can imagine that I am very disappointed to miss out on this final race of the season. I am especially sorry for my team, who have worked so hard this season. I would also like to apologise to Honda and the sponsors of the team. I wanted to race but, after I spoke with doctors and the team, we decided that it was not possible.” Matthieu Lagrive: “I’m not so happy with my today results and I’m just a little disappointed because of my two bad starts. In both races I suffered the same problems we endured during the full weekend and the feeling with my bike was not so good. In race one I was able to overtake a lot of riders despite some grip lacking on my rear tyre. In race two in middle of the race I fought in a group of riders and I worked hard to make some passes.” WSS Rider Comments Eugene Laverty: “Pole position and a win but Lascorz took the lap record from me, which wasn’t very considerate of him! But that was a perfect race other wise. Right from the beginning I got a gap over Kenan and was able to maintain that. I was looking at his pit board too and he had six seconds over the rider behind and I thought he would let up, but he never did. I was able to ride within myself and take the win, and the test we did last week really helped us. I didn’t think when I came into the championship would could compete for the title, but I ended up only a few points from the championship win.” Kenan Sofuoglu: “My first goal this weekend was to stay in third place in the championship and that was safe when Lascorz stopped. But he stopped right in front of me and I lost the connection with Eugene, even though I managed to catch him a bit near the end, but it was too late. It’s been a tough season but my goal will be to come back strong next year. The bike is ready to win the championship again and that’s what we will be working for.” Andrew Pitt: “We changed the bike setting for the race but went the wrong way and ended up fighting a front-end problem we’ve had all weekend, and a lot of the season the bike just not turning. I’d like to thank the crew for all the efforts they’ve made all year to turn things around, but I guess it just hasn’t been our year. I would also like to pay tribute to Kenan, who has been a great guy to have as a team-mate.” Miguel Praia: “Not the result I wanted at my home round but my start did not go well, I lost a couple of places and it is hard to overtake here. I would overtake riders and then go wide again, so I passed and was re-passed. We got another top ten finish but the competition was very strong today.” Mark Aitchison: “Today the race for me was not so bad and at the end the result was quite good, but in the beginning I suffered some problems with the gearbox. I hit a false neutral on two occasions and unfortunately I lost a lot of time because of that. In general I’m happy with my racing season and I want to thank all the team for their hard work and also to my sponsor for their assistance.” Flavio Gentile: “Starting from twenty-third place on the grid was always going to be difficult. I cannot say that I am happy with the result, but I have to be satisfied after the troubles we have had this weekend. Portimao was a new circuit for me to learn and we found it difficult to obtain a good setting for the bike.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: 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. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: ROUND 14 PORTIMÃO, PORTUGAL SUNDAY OCTOBER 25, 2009 RACE REVIEW October 25th, 2009 Portimão, PT The final race of the 2009 FIM Superbike World Championship was blessed with resplendent weather, a contrast to last year’s debut of the Portuguese circuit. Three new champions were crowned at the final round of the championship including the Superbike title, decided by the very final race of the season, an excitement seen during the Pirelli’s first year of involvement in the series when Laconi and Toseland entered the Magny-Cours race separated by just four points. The Portuguese crowd of 86,000 witnessed the crowing of the 2009 Superbike World Champion Ben Spies on his Yamaha YZF-R1 in his debut season, 2009 World Supersport Champion Cal Crutchlow on his Yamaha YZF-R6 and European Superstock 600 Champion Gino Rea on his Honda CBR600RR. Ben Spies makes the sixth American every to win the Super World Championship and the first for a Yamaha rider. The impressive effort by Yamaha to take these two season titles was reminiscent of the 2007 season of the Ten Kate Honda squad of James Toseland and Kenan Sofuoglu. The fortune seemed to be on the side of the American going into the final round, as Haga was not in top form for the Superpole, having not made the cut for the third session. Spies’ time on the DIABLO SUPERBIKE qualifying session tyres of 1’42.412 was a second below Bayliss from 2008 and half of a second in front of Shane Byrne, whose front row start was a likeness of Misano. Pirelli made available a diversity of tyre options for this race weekend: four front and five rear solutions for Superbike as well as well as three front and two rear solutions for Supersport. The newness of the track, change in temperature from last year and the need to make a final confirmation of data earned throughout season’s 14 races left Pirelli with nearly 6000 tyres to service the paddock for the weekend. Pirelli congratulates this year’s champions as well as the members of each team who offer such valuable feedback in order to continue developing performance tyres for this production-based championship. Superbike Race One: With just ten points separating the two houses of Ducati and Yamaha, every technical aspect of the weekend had to be in good order, including the choice of DIABLO SUPERBIKE tyres. For the first race, Spies and Haga made radically different solutions, with Spies opting for a soft “A” front and mid-soft “D” rear, whereas Haga and Fabrizio went with the mid-soft “C” front and rear tyres. Shane Byrne and Ben Spies throttled down the hill into the first corner with Biaggi (Aprilia) and Rea (Honda) in tow. Spies turned on the gas and blazed a trail which only Biaggi seemed to keep up with for the next half of the race. Unfortunately, Haga’s poor qualifying position did not give him much chance for a good start, and after the first lap could only gain back three positions. His pace was strong though, and managed to gain two additional spots before carrying too much speed down the centre straight and suffered a crash attempting to make the corner. Haga’s bike was damaged and was unable to continue the race. Spies focused his attention on a good rhythm and at the half-way point, it looked as if only Biaggi or Rea could make the push and challenge for the lead. Their changes of position pushed both of their lap times near the 1’45s, with Rea finding his way around Biaggi for the second place finish. Shane Byrne’s (Ducati) front row start resulted in a fourth place and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) took the fifth spot and set a lap record of 1’43.529, slightly lower than Troy Bayliss’s time from 2008. British Superbike Champion Leon Camier demonstrated an easy jump onto the Aprilia with a sixth place, facilitated by his experience with PIRELLI in this year’s championship. Spies’ 25 points and Haga’s zero left a 15 point gap between the two going into Race 2, leaving the final race of the year to decide the champion for 2009. Superbike Race Two The standings of Race 2 left the championship decided by just six points with the Superbike World Championship going to Yamaha World Superbike’s Ben Spies in his debut season. His win ratio of nearly 50% was particularly impressive, drawing every bit of grip from the DIABLO SUPERBIKE tyres in each race. The intensity of this race was increased when Shane Byrne (Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Honda) took the early lead, urging Spies (Yamaha) and the two Ducatis of Haga and Fabrizio to pick up their paces. The popular rear tyre solutions were split between the “D” option, selected by Spies, Rea, Biaggi (Aprilia) and Haga, and the “C” option, which was preferred by Byrne and Fabrizio. Jonathan Rea (Honda) stole the lead away from Byrne on lap 11 and a melee ensued at the front with the Ducati of Fabrizio during the second half of the race, with Fabrizio squeezing out the last bit of performance to take his third win of the season. Haga made a late break for the lead and managed to pass Spies, Byrne and Rea before finishing in second behind his teammate. Biaggi and Spies swapped spots several times behind the leaders, but since Spies new that a position better than sixth would give him the title, he maintained his slightly calmer pace and finished just ahead of Biaggi. Ducati Xerox’s Noriyuki Haga goes home with 2nd place in the championship ahead of his teammate Michel Fabrizio (3rd). The new Aprilia RSV4 Factory piloted by Max Biaggi can be very satisfied with a 4th place finish, and HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea (5th) has proven that he will be a force to be reckoned with in 2010. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Spies makes history with Yamaha to claim first ever World Superbike victory 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.”