FIM Superbike World Championship Misano, San Marino June 21, 2009 Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR1000RR), 24 laps, 39:11.204 2. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098 F09), -0.063 second 3. Noriyuki HAGA (Ducati 1098 F09), -0.457 second 4. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098R), -3.635 seconds 5. Carlos CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR), -4.460 6. Shane BYRNE (Ducati 1098R), -4.538 7. Tom SYKES (Yamaha YZF-R1), -12.679 8. Leon HASLAM (Honda CBR1000RR), -12.763 9. Ben SPIES (Yamaha YZF-R1), -13.237 10. Max BIAGGI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), -14.412 11. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), -20.073 12. Fonsi NIETO (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), -20.239 13. Shinya NAKANO (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), -22.351 14. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR), -24.547 15. Gregorio LAVILLA (Ducati 1098R), -24.696 16. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), -25.615 17. Broc PARKES (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -31.887 18. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 1098R), -34.751 19. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), -38.061 20. Luca SCASSA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -47.717 21. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Honda CBR1000RR), -48.973 22. Jamie HACKING (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -51.027, ran off track 23. Alessandro POLITA (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), -52.526 24. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Honda CBR1000RR), -57.589 25. Roland RESCH (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), -96.359 26. David SALOM (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -5 laps, DNF, retired 27. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R1), -9 laps, DNF, retired 28. Matteo BAIOCCO (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -19 laps, DNF, mechanical Championship Point Standings (after 16 of 28 races): 1. Haga, 292 points 2. Spies, 244 3. Fabrizio, 237 4. Rea, 167 5. Biaggi, 135 6. Haslam, 134 7. Sykes, 130 8. Carlos Checa, 109 9. Smrz, 108 10. Kiyonari, 98 11. Kagayama, 91 12. Byrne, 89 13. Regis Laconi, 77 14. Max Neukirchner, 75 15. Nakano, 71 16. Xaus, 42 17. Corser, 36 18. Parkes, 25 19. Lavilla, 12 20. TIE, Hacking/Hopkins, 9 22. TIE, Sheridan Morais/Nieto, 8 24. TIE, Lagrive/Tommy Hill, 6 26. Karl Muggeridge, 4 27. TIE, Brendan Roberts/Roberto Rolfo/Scassa/Baiocco, 3 31. TIE, Lanzi/Makoto Tamada, 2 33. TIE, Polita/Jake Zemke, 1 point More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: SPIES SCORES FIRST AND NINTH AT MISANO Narrows gap in standings in spite of problems in second race SAN MARINO, Italy (June 21, 2009) It was a mixed day for Ben Spies at the Misano World Circuit on Sunday. The Texan won spectacularly in the first race that started with a wet track and ended on a drying surface. The race was filled with drama with Spies running up front then falling back to ninth after pitting to change bikes, then blazing his way to the front to a 7.9-second victory in perhaps the best charge of the year. In the second race Spies was in the leading group on the first lap, but then a problem dropped him all the way back to 17th. The clutch on his factory Yamaha overheated and was slipping drastically under acceleration. After making manual adjustments on the fly Spies then started another rush forward, albeit less dramatic race one, and was able to manage a ninth, at times being the fastest rider on the track. In sum the Misano race weekend was a net positive one for Spies. He was able to shave five points from Nori Haga’s series points lead. He heads to Donington Park next Sunday (June 28) in second, 48 points behind Haga. He came into Misano 53 points back. “The first race was a great victory,” Spies said. “I was running pretty good early in the wet and saw that it was going to dry quickly. That’s why I came in early to switch to the dry set up. It paid off big. That was one of the best runs through the field I’ve ever had. It was a rewarding win.” The sweet taste of victory ended with bitter disappointment with the race two clutch problem. The frustration in Spies’ voice after the race was obvious. “The clutch was just fried,” Spies sighed. “I couldn’t accelerate at all. It was slipping so bad I just had to baby it out of the turns. Then I adjusted the hell out of it for several laps, trying anything to make it work. It was difficult trying to race and work on the bike at the same time. At one point I came up on [Shinya] Nakano and [Yukio] Kagayama and I couldn’t get around them because the clutch kept slipping on me every time I came out of a corner. I tried to change my riding style by going in late on the brakes, but it was useless.” Finally in the last 10 laps the constant adjustments by Spies paid off and the clutch started working. “After the clutch finally came in I was able to turn in some good laps,” Spies explained. “I think I turned my best lap with two or three to go. I just wish it [the clutch] would have come in earlier. I know I could have done a lot better.” Spies was not comforted by the fact that he made up five championship points on Haga, who finished fifth and third. “Five points just doesn’t cut it,” he protested. “We’ve just given away too many points on mechanical problems. It’s frustrating. Every time I seem to start getting some momentum and getting back into the championship picture, something like this happens. All I can do is go to Donington and start over again.” In the U.S. the Misano’s rounds can be watched back to back on SPEED starting at 3:30 pm Eastern. More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: SBK, RACE 1: NAKANO FINISHES IN NINTH PLACE, BIAGGI THIRTEENTH Despite it being the first day of summer, rain dominated Race 1 of the San Marino Superbike round taking place at the Misano World Circuit. The rain started to fall in the morning and continued throughout the day, forcing the competition’s organizers to postpone the Superstock 1000 race due to the water as well as an accident at the beginning of the event. Ben Spies won Race 1 of the SBK on his Yamaha Factory, finishing ahead of Byrne with the Sterilgarda team’s private Ducati, and Fabrizio ended up in third place also on a Ducati. It stopped raining just a few minutes before the top class of production derived bikes entered the circuit and a pale sun broke through the clouds, but the track was still wet from the rain when the race began. Byrne started off splendidly and immediately took command, breaking away from his competitors. Just behind him there was great battle for the podium among Fabrizio, Spies, Haga and Checa, with the first three also challenging one another for the world championship title from a distance. Lap after lap, the track began to dry up and so the roundabout of the changing of the bikes began with Nakano who re-entered the box first during the ninth lap while he was in thirteenth place. He began to make up about five seconds per lap immediately after the change. The situation was in constant flux with Byrne who chose to remain on the track as long as possible, given the excellent lead he had obtained, but Spies managed to set an impressive pace using slicks and after just a few laps, he caught up to and passed the Brit, and took off towards his eighth win of the season. There was a battle for the third step on the podium between Fabrizio, who was overtaken by Smrz, who was very fast, but in the end, the Roman driver was the winner. Nakano finished Race 1 in ninth place. The Japanese driver started off decently but failed to find the right feeling with his RSV4 on the wet track. He re-entered the box in the ninth lap to change his motorcycle, opting for the one with the slick tyres and from twentieth position, he began a nice recovery to ninth place. Instead, Max Biaggi finished in thirteenth place after starting off well and completing the first few laps in the lead. However, he then quickly lost ground and changed his bike during the fifteenth lap, re-entered the race in twentieth position, but just like his team mate, only managed to recapture three points. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea won the second of today’s two eighth round World Superbike championship races at Misano in Italy his first win in his debut season. It was a stunning bounce back after the 22-year-old was dogged by bad luck in the opening 24-lap encounter at the 4.2km Misano circuit. In wet conditions, Rea’s number one machine developed a fuel problem on the sighting lap and he was given a ride back to the pits by his Ten Kate team-mate, Ryuichi Kiyonari. However, both riders were given a ride-through penalty for contravening regulations, a punishment compounded by Rea being denied access to the grid on his spare machine. He was forced to start the warm-up lap from pit lane and the race from the back of the grid. Rea got a scorching start and was in tenth place by the end of lap one, despite a clash with Kiyonari which finished the Japanese rider’s race through a broken gear shift and left a hole in Rea’s right foot from his team-mate’s footpeg. He moved up to sixth place before pitting for his ride-through penalty. With the track then drying, riders began coming into pit lane to change to dry tyres, Rea changing on lap twelve before setting a succession of fastest laps and finishing in an impressive seventh place. With the circuit dry, Rea’s performance in race two was even more impressive. Starting from second place on the grid, the Northern Irishman slipped past Noriyuki Haga for the lead on lap four. Haga and his Ducati team-mate, Michel Fabrizio, each took turns at the front later in the race, but Rea dived past the Italian early in the final lap and held him at bay to take a stunning victory. Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Carlos Checa, took 11th place in the rain affected first outing and posted an impressive fifth place in race two, after chasing Rea and the two Ducatis for much of the race. Jonathan Rea 7th and 1st I just want to thank the whole crew and the Andreani group for working so hard to help make this happen. It really bodes well for us all for the rest of the season. We knew we had the pace this weekend but race one was a pretty bad situation. I needed to start with scrubbed tyres in the wet but the problem on the sighting lap finished that plan. With the penalties and brand new tyres and having destroyed my footrest and rear brake in the crash with Kiyo, it was difficult, so seventh was about as good as we could have hoped for. Race two was great and, as soon as I knew I had the pace to match the two Ducatis I was comfortable. I tried a few different lines in the closing laps to probe and find the best way through. When I got past Fabrizio, it was pretty straightforward. It’s really nice to win here in Italy, in Ducati’s back yard, where we thought it would be quite hard. But we’ve come leaps and bounds recently and hopefully we can fight at the front in every race. Carlos Checa 11th and 5th I am actually quite positive, even though we did not have the perfect set-up and had some problems with movement in the rear of the bike. With those problems, I was struggling to match the pace of Jonathan and the two Ducatis. It’s been a very busy weekend with new suspension in the bike and we had a few things that we wanted to test this morning. However, the wet conditions made that impossible. Considering the big changes we have been working with this weekend, I think we can take a lot of positives to Donington next weekend. Ronald ten Kate team manager It’s been a very up and down day and a long road to success this season, with some difficult development steps with the CBR1000RR. Although we still have a few more plans and ideas that we want to try, Jonathan’s win today was a major breakthrough. I’d like to thank him and the other riders, the whole crew and Honda for staying loyal to us, and a special thanks to Andreani Group for all their hard work this week. Although the championship may be out of our reach this season, our intentions for the rest of the year are quite clear winning! More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: WITH THREE PODIUMS FOR THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM AT MISANO TODAY, DUCATI CELEBRATES 700TH SUPERBIKE PODIUM Misano (Italy) Sunday 21st June: Ducati Xerox riders Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga rode a stressful 24lap first race at the Misano World Circuit today, in which “flag-to-flag” rules were implemented due to the wet track conditions at the race start. An impressive race from Fabrizio and his Ducati 1198, finishing in third, on the podium for the first time in Misano, while teammate Haga also made up many positions to cross the line in fifth. In Race 2 Fabrizio narrowly missed out on the win, to conclude in second just 0.06 of a second behind Rea (Honda) and less than half a second in front of team-mate Haga. Despite no win today, with the podiums celebrated by Michel, Noriyuki and privateer Shane Byrne, Ducati reaches a milestone: the two podiums scored in Race 2 signify the 700th and 701st visit by a Ducati rider to the Superbike podium since the championship began. At the same time, Noriyuki today celebrated his 99th Superbike podium. A frenetic Race 1 ensued when the race was declared wet but the track quickly began to dry, meaning that the Superbike teams put into practice the “flag-to-flag” procedure, with riders able to change bikes, from a wet to a dry set-up, at any point they chose during the race. The majority of the riders on track rode on rain tyres for the first half of the race before making the swap, including Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki, who came in during lap 10, and Michel in lap 13. Noriyuki lost a few seconds in making the changeover and then both Ducati men admitted that it took a few laps to find feeling with their 1198 machines on the drying surface but they were soon comfortable enough to begin their progression through the field, making up many positions in the latter stages of the race. Race 2 was dry from start to finish and turned out to be a spectacular three-way battle for the win. Haga made a flying start to take the lead in the opening laps before soon losing the advantage to Jonathan Rea (Honda). In the subsequent laps it was the Ducati Xerox team-mates Noriyuki and Michel who battled it out between themselves for second place with Rea just ahead of them. In the sixteenth lap Michel made a move from second position, got past Jonathan and continued to command the race until the very last lap when Rea manoeuvred his way back past the Italian rider, leaving Fabrizio and Haga to come home in second and third. The championship leader remains Noriyuki Haga who, after the first eight rounds of the championship, has accumulated 292 points, to the 244 points held by current second-placed rider Ben Spies. Michel Fabrizio chases, just behind Ben with 237 points. Ducati continues to lead the manufacturers championship with 351 points ahead of Yamaha (287 points). Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 3rd, Race 2 2nd) “I did my best to stick with Ben in Race 1 but I think the fact that he changed from wet to dry set-up one or two laps before me made the difference, because I took a few laps to get feeling in the dry and then it was too late to catch him or Shane. In the last lap Smrz was right there on my tail and I went wide at one point but luckily he didn’t get past me and I finished third. In the second race I struggled a little with the front tyre and it seemed that today Rea’s Honda had a little something over us in its acceleration. It’s a shame it couldn’t be another win but, with two podiums today, I’m very happy, it’s my best ever result at this track and I know I did all I could so you can’t ask for more than that. I’ve just a few points behind Ben again now so, yes, I can’t help thinking about the title but in order to be a serious contender I know I need to remain consistent and clock up some race wins from here on in.” Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 5th, Race 2 3rd) “I am a bit disappointed with how Race 1 turned out. While on the wet set-up I was having all kinds of problems with the rear tyre that was sliding all over the place compared to other riders out there so I lost some positions before I came in to change bikes. Then I went back out on an intermediate/slick tyre combination that was perhaps not so suitable because in the final laps I was finding it difficult to maintain my pace and couldn’t push as I wanted to. Race 2 went much better, I got a great start but once Johnny, and then Michel, came past me it was hard to keep pace; maybe because they are so much younger than I am! Joking aside, I made good points all things considered, especially seeing as this has never been my favourite track, and now I’m looking forward to the next round at Donington where I’ve done well over the years.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Spies and Rea split the WSBK wins at Misano World Circuit Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) scored the two wins in a memorable day of racing at the Misano World Circuit in Italy. In front of 65,000 spectators Spies took his eighth seasonal win in the first race, while Rea grabbed his maiden Superbike win in the second. The Ducati Xerox pairing of Michel Fabrizio, third and second in the two races, and Noriyuki Haga were also key players in the day’s action, and the Japanese rider now has a 48 point lead over Spies and 55 over his team-mate. Race 1 Spies scored the win in the first race of the day, held in flag-to-flag conditions, which saw the riders starting on a wet track but taking the flag in the dry. Half-way through the 24-lapper, which had been totally dominated by Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati), the entire field started to pit to change bikes and tyres. Spies was the rider who judged things to perfection, the Texan immediately finding the right pace in the dry and going on to win by almost 8 seconds from Byrne. Third place saw a fantastic scrap, with Fabrizio making his 1098 machine as wide as possible on the final lap to hold off the rapidly catching poleman Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati). Fifth place went to Haga, who limited the damage on a track that is not one of his favourites, the Japanese rider passing his compatriot Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) in the final stages. Rea was the first Honda to the flag in a race that saw him start from the back of the grid and pick up a ride-through penalty. Tenth place went to Superbike rookie Matthieu Lagrive (Honda Althea), behind Shinya Nakano (Aprilia), while team-mate Max Biaggi was in difficulty in these conditions and could only finish 13th. Ben Spies: “It was a hard one, we knew from the start it was going to get dry and in that first half hats off to Shakey, he rode great. I had the feeling in the rain that I wasn’t quite happy but I tried as hard as I could to stay close to Michel. My box showed me that some riders were starting to come in for a change so I said that it was time to get in now. It was a hectic race, pretty eventful, not a great race but I was happy to pull this one off.” Shane Byrne: “That was a fantastic race. It’s a shame it didn’t stay wet for a little bit longer because I had a really big lead at one point. I wasn’t sure what to do with the tyre situation and all the time the lead was going up, and I didn’t know whether to stay out or not. I switched bikes with about seven laps to go and the first two laps were really difficult. Ben had done a couple more dry laps than I had, he passed me and there was no way I was going to get him. It was a fantastic result for the team at their home circuit, they’ve all worked really hard.” Michel Fabrizio: “That’s not a bad result, it was a great battle with Jakub for the final podium slot. When I saw that on the big screen that he was getting closer and closer, I knew that I had to invent something special on the last lap. I was unable to find the best possible feeling immediately with the dry tyres and I slipped back a bit but I’ve had a lot of bad luck in recent years at Misano so I’m very happy to get onto the podium.” Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 45’02.773 (135,093 kph); 2. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 7.931; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 11.836; 4. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 11.886; 5. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 31.670; 6. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 33.241; 7. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 35.772; 8. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 41.931; 9. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 51.507; 10. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 59.921; 11. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’04.285; 12. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’04.313; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’19.822; 14. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’22.412; 15. Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’31.635; 16. Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’39.830 Race 2 The second Superbike race saw talented young Brit Jonathan Rea take his first ever win after a spectacular scrap with Fabrizio that set the last laps of the race alight. The final podium slot went to points leader Haga, who took advantage of Spies’ second race mishap, the Texan only managing ninth after being slowed by a clutch issue. Smrz picked up another fourth place after passing Carlos Checa (Honda) on the final lap as the Spanish rider’s tyres went off. Byrne was once again up amongst the front-runners and he finished the second race in sixth place. The first Yamaha to the finish was the R1 of Tom Sykes, seventh ahead of Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda). The Aprilias of Biaggi and Nakano both finished in the points, together with the Suzukis of Kagayama and Nieto, while Xaus and Corser (BMW) and Parkes and Hacking (Kawasaki) all failed to finish in the top 15. Jonathan Rea: “To win my first race in Italy here is really special for me before my home round next weekend at Donington. As everybody’s aware we switched suspensions, and tried them for the first time on Monday at Magny-Cours and the team all did a marvelous job to get me to win the race here so this is really special for them as well. I got settled into my own rhythm and Michel came past but he couldn’t outbrake me and that spared my bike from doing all the running. I could pass where I wanted to pass and I saved it to the last lap. I’m really over the moon with the win!” Michel Fabrizio: “In race 2 I didn’t have a perfect feeling with the front and Rea’s Honda accelerated better out of the corners than me. It’s a pity I didn’t win today but two podiums are my best result on this track and knowing that I did my best makes me happy. I’m just a few points behind Spies in the table and maybe I can start thinking about the title now although I realize that to be a serious candidate I have to keep on getting good results and even win a few races”. Noriyuki Haga: “Race 2 was much better than the first one: I got a good start but then Johnny and Michel passed me and it was hard to keep their pace, maybe because they’re much younger than me! Seriously though we have taken home some good points and that’s important because Misano is not one of my favourite tracks. Now I’m looking forward to racing at Donington where in recent years I’ve always had good results.” Results: 1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 39’11.204 (155,293 kph); 2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 0.063; 3. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 0.457; 4. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 3.635; 5. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 4.460; 6. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 4.538; 7. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 12.679; 8. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 12.763; 9. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 13.237; 10. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 14.412; 11. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 20.073; 12. Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 20.239; 13. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 22.351; 14. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 24.547; 15. Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 24.696; 16. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 25.615 Points (after 8 of 14 rounds): 1. Haga 292; 2. Spies 244; 3. Fabrizio 237; 4. Rea 167; 5. Biaggi 135; 6. Haslam 134; 7. Sykes 130; 8. Checa 109; 9. Smrz 108; 10. Kiyonari 98. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 351; 2. Yamaha 287; 3. Honda 240; 4. Aprilia 142; 5. Suzuki 128; 6. Bmw 62; 7. Kawasaki 41 World Supersport Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) got the better of Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) in an exciting Supersport clash at Misano. The points leader just had the edge in a two-part race, which was red-flagged due to oil on the track, beating his rival in a sprint to the line. With his third win of the season Crutchlow has a 14 point lead over Laverty, and the fight now looks to be between these two as Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) picked up a DNF with a crash while running third. The Dutch team’s forgettable weekend was completed with a crash for Andrew Pitt, while the Australian was leading in the early stages. Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Honda) rode a great race to step onto the podium on a track where he won in 2006. The Italian held off Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Provec) on aggregate after a late charge by the Spanish rider. Australian Mark Aitchison scored a convincing fifth for the Honda Althea team, ahead of Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki Provec) and Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda), while poleman Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini) had to retire from eighth place with a technical problem. Results: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 36’51.032 (151,377 kph); 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 0.263; 3. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 16.289; 4. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 20.894; 5. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 21.615; 6. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 22.272; 7. West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 25.099; 8. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 26.374 Points (after 8 of 14 rounds): 1. Crutchlow 160; 2. Laverty 146; 3. Sofuoglu 108; 4. Lascorz 86; 5. West 75; 6. Pitt 73; 7. Foret 63; 8. Aitchison 61; 9. Pirro 48; 10. Roccoli 40. Superstock 1000 The fourth round was dominated by Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda), his second win of the season. The Frenchman was quickest off the mark, and he immediately pulled out a decisive margin for the win. The runner-up slot, his fourth in four races, went to Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox), who thanks to this result becomes the new Superstock points leader. The man he knocked off the top, Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare), had to settle for fourth and is now six points behind in the standings. The final podium place went to Sylvain Barrier (Garnier Junior Yamaha), while two more Italians, Michele Magnoni (Bevilacqua Yamaha) and Davide Giugliano (Unionbike MV Agusta) finished fifth and sixth. Results: 1. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 15’07.296 (150,913 kph); 2. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 5.596; 3. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 8.647; 4. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 8.907; 5. Magnoni M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 9.066; 6. Giugliano D. (ITA) MV Agusta F4 312 R 12.028; 7. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 12.361; 8. Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 13.509 Points (after 4 of 10 rounds): 1. Simeon 80; 2. Corti 74; 3. Berger 66; 4. Fores 51; 5. Barrier 43; 6. Beretta 36; 7. Jesek 28; 8. Baz 23; 9. Magnoni 19; 10. Burrel 18 Superstock 600 Thanks to his third win of the year Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno) has pulled out a decisive lead in the championship, a result made even more positive by the eighth place for his closest rival Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda). The race was decided in the final stages with Petrucci getting the better of his team-mate Marco Bussolotti. Belgium’s Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha) prevented an all-Italian podium and moves into third in the standings. Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini) was fourth and Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha) fifth. Two wild-cards, Ferruccio Lamborghini (Yamaha Media Action) and Giuliano Gregorini (Baru Racing Yamaha), were also up amongst the front-runners but both crashed out. Results: 1. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 17’13.058 (147,268 kph); 2. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 0.103; 3. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 0.381; 4. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 3.560; 5. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 3.933; 6. Boscoscuro A. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 7.110; 7. Tamburini R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 7.494; 8. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 7.523 Points (after 4 of 10 rounds): 1. Petrucci 75; 2. Rea 58; 3. Lonbois 56; 4. Guarnoni 54; 5. Bussolotti 46; 6. Litjens 38; 7. La Marra 35; 8. Kerschbaumer 32; 9. Guittet 27; 10. Lombardi 23 More, from a press relese issued by Team Sterilgarda: Team Sterilgarda BRC Racing returns on the podium and what better place to do it than Misano Adriatico. Shakey Byrne put on a great performance on a surface which was at first wet but then dried out during the 24 laps of the race. The English rider coped well with the water and built an advantage but with 5 laps left he got back to the pits to change tyres. When he returned on the track, Ben Spies had already taken the top spot. He did however maintain position until the chequered flag was displayed. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 2nd, 6th : “I’m very happy with my first podium position with Sterilgarda. After a difficult season start, I improved progressively and today I managed to score a great result on my team’s home ground. I had a good feeling with the track when it was still wet and built a pretty good advantage. Once I changed tyres it took me a few laps to get back in rhythm and Spies overtook me. Getting back on the podium gives you a great feeling and boosts your confidence. I also did pretty well in race 2 when the track had completely dried out. I maintained position at the start and was just behind the front runners. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake and lost contact but I’m still happy with my performance because I set the fastest time in the last lap. I’m really in good form and the Donington round couldn’t have come in a better moment”. MARCO BORCIANI – team manager: “It’s a wonderful feeling to get back on the podium. It seems like Misano is our track since last year Xaus won and Biaggi finished second. We did very well today as well and we’re getting better every time. It’s really a shame that Shane made those small mistakes in race 2. He could’ve fought for a podium position yet again. However, we finished 4 seconds off the winner’s time and next week Shane will race on his home track at Donington”. More, from a press release issued by Honda: REA TAKES BREAKTHROUGH WIN IN WORLD SUPERBIKE Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) had to wait until the second race of the day to take his first win in World Superbike, but it was worth the wait as the young rider from Northern Ireland held off the two factory Ducati machines at their home circuit. It was also Honda’s first win this season in WSB. The 22-year-old rider could well have had two podium visits today, but because of unseasonable local weather Rea ended up having a very dramatic first race, which was started in wet conditions. The track dried as the race went on, making this the first race ever in WSB history to see new flag-to-flag rules brought into play. Rea, who had qualified a career best second, was forced to start from the back of the grid and face a ride-through after getting a lift back to the pitlane from Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) when his machine developed a glitch and stopped on the track, as well as having a dispute with the officials when trying to exit pitlane. He took his ride through after fighting into the leading places in the wet, and then he had to come in once more to change to a machine with a dry set-up, losing more time. Rea still finished a remarkable seventh, and was the first Honda rider home in race one, despite all his issues. Along with most of his team-mates, Rea has now swapped to Öhlins suspension, which he tested for the first time at Magny-Cours only a few days ago. In race two Rea was in the mix from the start, and took the lead on lap four, relinquishing it in the latter stages and then probing the defences of Michel Fabrizio before making a decisive pass early in the final lap and holding on for an advantage of 0.063 seconds. Rea’s team-mate Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) was not too disappointed with 11th in the opener, and was not helped by his machine stalling when changing bikes as the track dried out, an issue that also affected Rea on his changeover. Checa was much more effective in race two, finishing fifth after qualifying on row two. He was only 4.460 seconds from Rea. Kiyonari was eighth on the grid but he did not finish the first race after a near highside in the damp conditions caused Rea to collide with him, bending his gear change lever. In the second 24-lap race he was14th. Matthieu Lagrive (Honda Althea CBR1000RR) used all his knowledge of endurance racing to manage his race strategy well in race one and take a top ten. He finished 21st in race two, one place ahead of his qualifying position in his first Superbike race for his team. Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR) struggled to 12th and 10th in each race, not feeling as confident in this race as he had in other rounds. John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR) qualified 26th, but only rode on Friday, due to his still-healing hip injury swelling up. He is expecting to ride with a greater level of fitness at the next round in Donington. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Squadra Corse Italia Honda CBR1000RR) qualified 27th and finished 20th in race one, 24th in the dry race two. After yet another dramatic day of racing, Rea consolidated fourth position in the championship on 167 points, with Noriyuki Haga on 292, race one winner Spies on 244 and Fabrizio on 237. WSS Report Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) recovered from an eighth place grid start and a crash in the wet morning warm-up to finish second in the aggregate 22-lap World Supersport race at Misano. The race was halted and restarted before half distance because of an oil spill, with Laverty already in the lead, thanks to an incredible display of speed in the early laps. He was not quite able to stick close enough to the eventual race winner Cal Crutchlow on the final lap to maintain his narrow advantage after the first leg. He lost out in another classic fight with his old British Supersport rival by only 0.263 seconds, having spun up the rear tyre on the final corner, spoiling his planned his pass down the straight. Mark Aitchison (Althea Honda CBR600RR) was seventh in practice but rode well in each leg to finish fifth and hold off the resurgent Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR), who ended his two-part race seventh, having qualified 6th. Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) was leading the first leg of the race when he fell at high speed, while his fellow third row qualifier and team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) fell shortly afterwards, and was unable to join the re-started race because he did not get back to pitlane with his fallen bike in time. Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) had a positive day, after qualifying 16th on Saturday and then falling in the wet morning warm-up, taking his first career top ten in a good day for the Parkalgar squad. Gianluca Vizziello (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR) improved his practice performance to go 11th, equalling his best result of 2009 so far. New rider Flavio Gentile (Althea Honda CBR600RR) made a vast improvement on his 21st place in qualifying by finishing 12th in his home race. In the overall championship fifth, Laverty lost five points to Crutchlow, but with Sofuoglu’s bad luck striking, Laverty is now 38 points ahead of the 2007 Champion. In the Manufacturers’ Standings, Honda leads by 18 points. The ninth round of the 14-round series takes place at Donington Park, in the UK, between 26 and 28 June. Rider Comments Jonathan Rea: “In race two I got into a good rhythm at the start and when the Ducatis came past I realised they could not clear off, so I settle behind them and found out where they were strong. With five or six laps to go I figured out where I could make some passes, and I got right onto Michel, and it was easy following him. I thought he pace of the race would be faster than it was. We have only had our new suspension for five days. I really want thank the rest of the team because they have worked really well and the motivation of the team is good, so it seems to be that anything that we need to find a way forward we get it. In race one, to start from the back of the grid, have a ride through penalty, stall the bike on the changeover and eventually finished seventh? If I look at the times I did without all the other things happening we would have won race one as well, which is a testament to how hard the team has been working. Donington next and I can’t wait.” Leon Haslam: “I had an issue with the front end in the first race. I stayed out quite long on the wet tyres, got into fourth position, and then obviously stayed out for too long. When I went into the pit I only had four laps remaining, so I should have returned to pit four or five laps earlier. That was my own mistake. In the second race there was something wrong when the engine kept pushing me in and I kept losing the front. When the engine was good and the electronics were good, the lap times were as quick as anyone, but for seventy percent of the race the engine was just pushing me into the corners, so I really struggled.” Carlos Checa: “I am actually quite positive, even though we did not have the perfect set-up and had some problems with movement in the rear of the bike. With those problems, I was struggling to match the pace of Jonathan and the two Ducatis. It’s been a very busy weekend with new suspension in the bike and we had a few things that we wanted to test this morning. However, the wet conditions made that impossible. The considering the big changes we have been working with this weekend, I think we can take a lot of positives to Donington next weekend.” Ryuichi Kiyonari: “The first race was difficult with the first lap crash. I had a big high-side but stayed on the bike and Jonathan hit me, although it was not his fault. My gearshift was broken and there was some engine damage so I could not continue past the first lap. In race two, things were OK, but I did not have the same feeling that I had on Saturday and could not keep the lap times. The setting is definitely coming better though and with small steps we are improving. I hope at Donington, things will be even better because I like it there. After that, we have a test in Imola with more improvement I hope.” John Hopkins: “After yesterday’s session I am feeling really sore. I got some painkillers before the session, but I think I just pushed it a bit too much. I am breaking away the scar tissue at the moment. It is just better for me to take it easy today and concentrate on tomorrow. I will be doing the warm up and then see what we can do for the race. This weekend for me is important to get the strength in my leg back up and to get ready for the next race at Donington.” Matthieu Lagrive: “I’m very happy for my first race today. It was tough because in the first curve I went out on the gravel and I rejoined the race in the last position. Starting from the first few laps I pushed very hard and I found a very good pace. I was able to overtake a lot of riders and only when the track became dry I decided to re-enter the box to change the bike and to use the second one, and my team decided to use intermediate tyres. I took a few laps to understand how my second bike was working but I gained a lot of confidence very quickly and it was very nice to overtake riders like Biaggi and Checa and to reach tenth position in my first Superbike race. Unfortunately my second race was difficult because my bike setting was not perfect for a race on a track completely dry.” WSS Rider Comments Eugene Laverty: “I am still reasonably happy with second. In the first half of the race I sliced through from a bad start and 13th to the lead in just three laps. Then in the delay, we made a small change to my bike and it worked very well. In the second half it was much easier to follow Cal Crutchlow, so much so that when sitting behind him I thought I was being held up but when I took the lead I couldn’t get away. He passed me again and I thought I’d go for plan ‘B’ which was to get into the final corner and drive out to challenge Cal at the line. I had deliberately held back at that corner in previous laps because I was quicker than him there. Then on the last corner I got in well but got on the gas very early, I may have been too eager, and the rear wheel simply spun up.” Kenan Sofuoglu: “It’s been a bad weekend for us and our championship. We needed to test these new suspension components but there has just been too much rain this weekend. We had to guess at the dry set-up for the race but I knew quite early that it was not quite right. The rear was spinning way too much on the corner exit and I had some problems getting past Fujiwara. When I finally got through, I had to push hard to reach the others and I crashed.” Andrew Pitt: “There is simply no point running around for fifth and sixth place finishes, which we’ve had for the last few races. I need to start winning again and that was all that was in my mind today. The problem is that we’ve been testing new suspension and had very little dry track time. Yesterday’s qualifying was difficult but my start was pretty good and I was just pushing for the win and we know what happened. It was fast enough and my neck and shoulder are a little sore but I’ll be OK again by next weekend.” Anthony West: “It has been a strange weekend for me. I crashed twice trying to do the best I can with the bike, and I am not really happy with the race results. I did the best I could with the package I had this weekend, but it just wasn’t good enough. I need to be at the front. We have made some small improvements over the last race, but still have a lot of work to do. I hope we can improve the bike for Donington and get some better results there.” Gianluca Vizziello: “I had a good start, but had some problems with the acceleration of my bike. Halfway through the race I got into problems with my front tyre. It was not possible to push myself forward on that tyre. I am disappointed, even though my result is not that bad. We just need to concentrate improving the front end of the machine.” Mark Aitchison: “Today the race was a little bit difficult for me because we struggled a lot with grip. Unfortunately I lost the front group a bit in the first sector of the race and in the second sector it was almost the similar story with the grip of the tyres. We could not understand how to solve this problem to give me a good feeling on the tyres and as a consequence I could not push very hard.” Miguel Praia: “Finally we have got into the top 10, this is my best ever race result since joining the World Championship and I am very happy. My Parkalgar Honda is fantastic and the team did a mega job to get me out in the race with such a good set-up after a crash in warm-up.” Gianluca Vizziello: “I had a good start, but had some problems with the acceleration of my bike. Halfway through the race I got into problems with my front tyre. It was not possible to push myself forward on that tyre. I am disappointed, even though my result is not that bad. We just need to concentrate improving the front end of the machine.” Flavio Gentile: “I’m quite happy with today’s race. My first start was very bad and so I was forced to push extremely hard from the beginning to reach the riders in front of me. My second start was better and I found a good race pace very quickly.” More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: Chaotic Superbike racing at Misano The blistering heat that opened the eighth round in the Superbike World Championship, remained absent for the rest of the Misano event as wet conditions and crashes dominated at track today. Haslam suffered a crash in the early minutes of the wet warm-up session, which left him with minimum time to familiarise himself with the tricky wet track conditions. The first Superbike race was declared wet, but riders were soon confounded by changing weather conditions that caused rapid drying of the track. For the first time this season the new flag-to-flag rule – which allows riders to return to the garage and switch machines – came into action in the ninth lap of the race. In the chaos that followed the changing of machines, Haslam – still out on wet tyres – climbed from his tenth position on the grid to a fourth place, but lost valuable seconds on every lap to the guys already out on dry tyres. Haslam returned to the garage to change machines on the 18th lap, but struggled to make up for lost time in the remaining six laps of the race. One of the first riders to change machines, Ben Spies, took the win in the first Misano race, while Haslam finished 12th. The second race was undertaken in dry weather conditions. Despite issues with the electronics of his bike, Leon Haslam managed to take an eighth place and took valuable points home for the team. Leon Haslam, Race 1-12th, Race 2-8th: “I had an issue with the front end of my machine in the first race. I stayed out long on the wet tyres, got into fourth position, and then obviously stayed out for too long. When I went into the pit I only had four laps remaining, so I should have returned to pit four or five laps earlier. That was my own mistake. In the second race there was something wrong when the engine kept pushing me in and I kept losing the front. When the engine was good and the electronics were good, the lap times were as quick as anyone, but for seventy percent of the race the engine was just pushing me in so I really struggled.” Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager: “The first race was difficult for everyone to know what was going on with the new flag-to-flag rule. It didnt really work out, the track dried quicker than we thought it had and Leon returned to the pit too late and failed to hold on to his fourth place. That was areal pity. In the second race, his start was pretty fine, as were his lap times. But he struggled with the electronics of his machine which made it hard to push any further. We have to work on this for the next race in Donington.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: High drama in Misano as Yamaha riders fight for points in wet and dry races Race one saw drama unfold as the World Superbike riders headed out for a wet race but were forced to change midway for slicks as the rain stopped and the sun broke out. Yamaha rider Ben Spies spent most of the wet heat in 4th tucked up behind rival Fabrizio as he paced himself on the damp track. He picked the ideal time to change to his dry bike on lap 13, emerging from the pits right behind Fabrizio, taking him swiftly for 8th position. Spies then displayed a typical Texan masterclass in racing, working swiftly up to take Xaus for the lead on lap 17, leading from there to the chequered flag. Race two saw a technical issue with the clutch drop Spies from 2nd back to 17th. He then proved his skill yet again, riding round the fault to work through eight riders to take ninth in the race. Team-mate Tom Sykes made up for an average qualifying position to post good finishes in both races. Race one saw the British rider pit early for slicks and then come out fighting in 13th, enjoying the damp conditions he pushed on to eventually take eighth at the chequered flag. Race two saw a good start, Sykes moving to 11th then fighting hard all the way up to duel with Haslam for the 7th place spot as the race end drew close. Having lost the spot to Haslam on lap 20 he took it back again and crossed the line to claim his well deserved points. Spies now prepares for Donington next week on 244 points, second in the championship and now closer to Haga, with 48 points separating them. Sykes heads back to the UK for his home race seventh in the championship on 130 points, with only five points separating him from fifth placed Max Biaggi. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st, 9th) “Race one was definitely better than race two! It was good for us, we did what we had to do. I stayed as close as I could to Fabrizio, I couldn’t run Byrne’s pace but wanted to stay with Michel as he was the one who mattered to me in the championship. I picked the right moment to come in and get out on dry tyres and switch bikes and put in good pace and we managed to win the race. Race two wasn’t so great, I had an issue with the clutch on the start, for the first few laps I was short shifting and trying to ride round it. It finally came better but when I got behind Corser and Kagayama and those guys I couldn’t get round them easily. The last seven or eight laps it came good and I tried to run everyone down and started picking them off. I got up to Sykes and Haslam and they were having their little battle, we were definitely faster but I needed another lap to get round them which I didn’t have. It’s frustrating as we’ve lost good points this year and we’d be leading the championship with them. We’ll go to Donington and try to start over again and see what happens.” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (8th, 7th) “From where we qualified we’ve made a bit better day of things than I expected. For race 1 in the wet I had some difficulty with too much traction in the first heat. I pulled in a bit sooner than I would have done if I’d had a perfect wet set up. In the second half we were fast and consistent, I really enjoyed it, the 14 laps felt like two it was over so quickly. Race two we made a couple more changes and I was pretty happy with the balance of the bike, I struggled with some rear grip but we’re improving the small bits and it’s onwards and upwards. It’s been a tough weekend and I’d like to thank the whole of the team, we’ve put our heads together and they put in a lot of hard work and effort to improve the bike.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “The first race was amazing, the second race was different! In the end we came here 54 points behind Nori and now we’re 48 points behind so it’s still better for the championship. Tom made a great improvement which was really important for him so now we’re going to Donington where he will make another step. Both Ben and Tom know the track there, and Ben has showed us that when he doesn’t have to learn the track he can be even quicker. See you in a week.” More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: Ten Kate Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari insists on taking positives from his eighth round World Superbike championship encounters at Misano in Italy, in spite of disappointing results. Today’s two races were won by American Ben Spies and Kiyonari’s Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Jonathan Rea. In race one, Kiyonari gave the stricken Rea a lift back to the pits after the Northern Irishman’s bike suffered fuelling problems on the sighting lap. However, his gesture resulted in a ride-through penalty for both riders. Kiyonari was unable to take his ride-through after a near-highside on the opening lap. Rea, who started from the back of the grid for a pit lane infringement, was unable to avoid Kiyonari, who sustained a broken gear-shift and engine damage and was forced to retire. In race two, the Japanese ace endured a difficult race and was unable to maintain lap times to challenge for the leading positions, finishing in 14th place. Ryuichi Kiyonari DNF and 14th The first race was difficult with the first lap crash. I had a big high-side but stayed on the bike and Jonathan hit me, although it was not his fault. My gearshift was broken and there was some engine damage so I could not continue past the first lap. In race two, things were OK, but I did not have the same feeling that I had on Saturday and could not keep the lap times. The setting is definitely coming better though and with small steps we are improving. I hope at Donington, things will be even better because I like it there. After that, we have a test in Imola with more improvement I hope. Ronald ten Kate team manager It was a disappointing race day for Kiyonari-san, who showed good pace in the practice and qualifying sessions. We thought he was due some good luck this weekend, but maybe that will have to wait until Donington, where we know he can be very fast whether it’s wet or dry. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: RUBEN LEADS, THEN LOSES OUT IN THE DRY. The first race at Misano today saw the riders line up on a soaking wet track with all of them on full wet tyres. But with conditions rapidly changing, and the prospect of World Superbike’s first ever ‘flag-to-flag’ race in the offing, all the teams had spare bikes, shod with slicks, at the ready in the pit-lane for a changeover when the track dried out. BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Ruben Xaus took advantage of the tricky conditions and charged his way up from 18th on the grid to first place and led the race with just seven laps to go. But when he changed bikes, he was adjudged to have exceeded the pit-lane speed limit and he was given a ‘ride-through’ penalty. He fought his way back into the race and ended 14th. Troy’s race was over before he could even start. An electronic problem on the warm-up lap caused a highside and he crashed out, fortunately without doing further damage to his injured right shoulder. Ben Spies (Yamaha) won the 24-lapper, with Shane Byrne (Ducati) second and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third. Race two started in the dry and, apart from a few spots of rain, continued to remain a dry race. Ruben finished just out of the points in 16th, but ended lapping in similar times to the leaders. Troy had inconsistency problems with his S 1000 RR, but kept going as hard as he could and ended 19th. Jonathan Rea (Honda) had a race long battle with Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), but held them both off to record his maiden WSBK victory. Ruben – Race 1: 14th, Race 2: 16th It felt really good leading the race, knowing that I was beating all the guys who were all on exactly the same tyres as me. I felt comfortable in the damp conditions and if the track had stayed wet, maybe we could’ve done something that would’ve surprised everybody. But unfortunately for me, the track dried and we all had to come in and jump on to our spare bikes – with dry tyres. Our pit box is quite close to the pit-lane exit, so I didn’t think I had gone faster than the limit, but I got a ride-though penalty and that was enough for us to lose a top place. It’s always difficult knowing when to come in and change bikes, but this was a first for all of us and something we’ll have to get used to. In race two, I decided to adapt my riding style to the bike and I learnt a lot in that race and was happy because, at the end, I was lapping as quickly as the top guys. Troy – Race 1: DNS, Race 2: 19th Well that was a day to forget for me and a shame because Friday had gone so well and I felt that we were getting somewhere. I was highsided on the warm-up lap and we’re not sure why, but we think it was some sort of electronics problem. I didn’t open the throttle dramatically, but suddenly the bike just went faster and spat me off. Luckily I didn’t do any further harm to my shoulder, but my race was over. In race two, the bike felt kind of inconsistent and I wasn’t confident what it was going to do every time I entered or exited the corners. I could have pulled in, but I kept going because I knew that every lap I stayed out would give the team more information to work with. It’s been a frustrating day for me and the team, but I am sure we will have a better weekend in Donington. Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) After the positive start on Friday, and all the changes, we were hoping for better results – especially as the technical aspects were going in the right direction. Our Superpole was not so successful and we were a bit confused in the first race. We have to find the reason for Troy’s crash, but we will do so. We had some exciting moments when Ruben was leading, but maybe we made a tactical mistake by changing bikes a bit too late. It was unfortunate that Ruben got a ride-thorough for speeding in pit-lane because that ruined what could’ve been a good result. Race two was disappointing, but at the end of it we saw that Ruben could lap as fast as the front guys. We’re not sure why Troy struggled with the behaviour of his bike, but it’s something that we will have to investigate. We didn’t detect any problems in practice, but we’ll analyse all the data and make the necessary changes to carry on improving. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Misano Proves Hard To Master For Superbike Pairing WSBK, Misano, Republic of San Marino, 21 June 2009 Broc Parkes and Jamie Hacking each had separate issues at Misano on raceday and as a consequence neither rider was able to take a points scoring finish, despite occasional bright showings in practice. The first 24-lap race of the day saw the first use of the flag-to-flag rules in World Superbike, as the race started out on a wet track but got drier as the time went on, meaning almost every rider changed their machine in the middle of the race. Hacking was 16th in the opener, and Parkes 17th. In the second race, run in dry conditions throughout, the team’s riders could not replicate or improve their best lap times from practice, and thus Parkes was disappointed in finishing 17th again; Hacking even more so to be 22nd. In the championship chase Parkes remains 18th and Hacking 20th. Broc Parkes: “It’s been a mixed bag kind of weekend for me. I was happy with Friday’s fifth place but we struggled in Superpole to get a flying lap in and I missed sector two for the first time this year. The rain in race one obviously made conditions really difficult and we chose the wrong tyre, so I really struggled with grip as it dried up. By the time I changed tyres it was too late to make up any major ground. In race two I got a bad start and I still didn’t feel like we had the right direction on the bike so really struggled in the corners. We tried so many things over the weekend but with little improvement. Battling in 17th place is really disappointing for me and the team so I can only hope that we have a better race in Donington.” Jamie Hacking: “In the first race I wasn’t clear on the rules regarding the tyres as in the States the tyres you start on are the one’s you finish on so I didn’t see the board telling me to pit until it was too late. That was really disappointing as I felt we could finish at least in the top ten. In race two I got a decent start but I tried to go a bit steady into the corners when it was crowded, so I didn’t make the same mistake as in Miller. I lost some places so I was pushing hard and unfortunately ran into the back of someone later on and went off track. I was trailing in last and I could move only a few places forward. I’m really disappointed for the team and for myself and I just hope that I can make up some ground at the Donington race.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: MORE FRUSTRATION FOR TROY IN MISANO The eighth round of this year’s Superbike World Championship at Misano was another weekend of frustration and disappointment for Troy. He didn’t even get to start the first race, due to highsiding on the warm-up lap, and struggled with his bike in race two and ended 19th. Ben Spies (Yamaha) won the rain-affected first 24-lapper, with Shane Byrne (Ducati) second and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third. Race two started in the dry and, apart from a few spots of rain, continued to remain a dry race. Jonathan Rea (Honda) had a race long battle with Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), but held them both off to record his maiden WSBK victory. Troy – Race 1: DNS, Race 2: 19th Well there’s not that much to say really, except that I am very disappointed with how today went, especially as the signs had been good on Friday. The first race was a disaster because I didn’t even get to start it! I do not know why I highsided, but it happened quickly and without any warning and I hadn’t even got on the gas. It was a good thing I didn’t hurt my shoulder, because that’s the side I fell down on and the last thing I wanted was more injury. My bike didn’t feel right in race two and I didn’t know what it was doing in the corners or when I got on the gas. It felt nervous, but I carried on because I knew that the data guys would want me to keep going if I could. We’re going to have to sit down and work out what’s happening and find some solutions pretty soon, but there is no reason why we will have these problems in Donington. I am hoping for better things there and getting back to the kind of results we had earlier in the year. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: ROUND 8 MISANO WORLD CIRCUIT, ITALY SUNDAY 21 JUNE, 2009 RACE REVIEW June 21st, 2009 Misano Adriatico, RN (Italy) For the second Italian round of the Superbike World Championship, Pirelli took the occasion to introduce a new Superpole tyre with performance and improved life. Targeted for more profitable Superpole sessions, the tyres feature more grip than race day while the possibility to set record times is no longer limited to one lap. This new Superpole tyre added another layer of excitement for both the riders and spectators, evidenced by the performances of riders such as Jonathan Rea of Ten Kate Honda and first-time Superpole winner Jakub Smrz of Guandalini Racing, who set their fastest laps on the second and third flying laps. In addition to the new Superpole tyre, Pirelli has adding a little more “Rosso” to the championship by invested in additional track signage to create more awareness for its DIABLO ROSSO tyres, whose technology benefitted from the many developments made in WSBK. Over 67,000 spectators came to witness the exciting racing action of flag-to-flag in Superbike Race 1, the daring passes in Superbike Race 2, the speed of Supersport riders and the always tight championship classifications in Superstock which continues to reaffirm the competitiveness, talent and competence of a racing series which is Pirelli’s top motorcycle racing scene. Race 1: AIR HUMIDITY 76% AIR TEMPERATURE 18°C TRACK CONDITION Wet TRACK TEMPERATURE 16°C Pirelli’s tyre selection was utilized to its fullest as the Superbike riders experienced the first flag-to-flag race conditions of the season. With two different rain solutions and an intermediate solution in addition to the slick tyres, tyre strategy was the key to winning the race in such unpredictable weather conditions. At the start of the first race, teams were anxiously debating the rainy weather conditions and temperature. In the end, most teams chose to run full rain tyres, with the winning choice of “A” front and “A” rear having been used at Brands Hatch in 2008. With the falling rain making the riders just a bit cautious, it was the 2008 British Superbike Champion Shane Byrne who took an early lead with his Sterilgarda Ducati, but then Shinya Nakano of Aprilia began the first of the pit entrances on the eighth lap to change bikes to a dry setup. Even though the track was drying out and still on a rain setup, the #111 BMW of Ruben Xaus charged through the pack to the front, even passing Byrne to take the lead for two laps, an exciting thrill for the German brand’s first season effort. After eighteen laps though, the dry track had taken its toll on Xaus rain tyres, forcing him to finally enter the pits and make the necessary change. American Ben Spies made his bike change at the half-way point before Byrne and Xaus and it only took him six laps to find the front, passing eight riders to find and maintain the lead from lap eighteen. Shane Byrne was still the surprise of the Race One, with a second place finish being his best of the season. Michel Fabrizio of Ducati Xerox is really showing the potential to battle for the championship, taking a third place finish while his teammate and points leader Haga, could only make a fifth. Race Standings – Superbike Race 1 Pos. Rider Bike Team Race time 1 B. Spies Yamaha YZF-R1 Yamaha WSB 45’02.773 2 S. Byrne Ducati 1098R Sterilgarda +7.931 3 M. Fabrizio Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team 11.836 4 J. Smrz Ducati 1098R Guandalini Racing 11.886 5 N. Haga Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team 31.670 Race 2: AIR HUMIDITY 39% AIR TEMPERATURE 26°C TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 39°C Misano’s race was full of surprises and excitement for the Superbike paddock and the public. Pirelli’s new rear DIABLO SLICK solution added for Misano is targeted for tracks which have a low mechanical grip, and was the most popular choice for Race Two. Not only did the DIABLO SUPERBIKE solution prove its very successful performance level with a lap record of 1’37.135 by Noriyuki Haga, but the 0.5 second improvement from Troy Corser’s time of 2008 was only 0.3 lower than Haga’s last lap of the race. The real surprise was Superbike newcomer Jonathan Rea of HANNspree Ten Kate Honda, who shared the lead with the two Ducati’s of Haga and Fabrizio, fighting hard to the very last lap to take the win from Fabrizio by six hundredths of a second. Haga looks like he has finally recovered from some of the injuries suffered at the United States round in Utah, but it was his teammate and Rea who fought the hardest. American favourite Ben Spies ran into technical difficulties in the first laps of the race, causing him to pit and fall to the back of the pack, still recovering eight positions over the next 23 laps. Pole sitter Jakub Smrz of Guandalini Racing made some very impressive laps, fighting with Rea’s teammate Carlos Checa and Sterilgarda’s Shane Byrne, but could not improve his fourth place position after the first lap. Race Standings Superbike Race 2 Pos. Rider Bike Team Race Time 1 J. Rea Honda CBR1000RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 39’11.204 2 M. Fabrizio Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team +0.063 3 N. Haga Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team 0.457 4 J. Smrz Ducati 1098R Guandalini Racing 3.635 5 C. Checa Honda CBR1000RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 4.460 Championship Standings (YTD) – Superbike Pos. Rider Bike Team Points 1 Noriyuki Haga Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team 292 2 Ben Spies Yamaha YZF-R1 Yamaha WSB 244 3 Michel Fabrizio Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team 237 4 Jonathan Rea Honda CBR1000RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 167 5 Max Biaggi Aprilia RSV4 Factory Aprilia Racing 135 6 Leon Haslam Honda CBR1000RR Stiggy Honda Racing 134 7 Tom Sykes Yamaha YZF-R1 Yamaha WSB 130 8 Carlos Checa Honda CBR1000RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 109 9 Jacob Smrz Ducati 1098R Guandalini Racing 108 10 Riuichi Kiyonari Honda CBR1000RR Ten Kate Honda Racing 98 Supersport World Championship AIR HUMIDITY 46% AIR TEMPERATURE 24°C TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 29°C Pirelli continued its intensive development in the World Supersport Championship by bringing a new rear “B1″ DIABLO SUPERCORSA solution with a performance and durability to match the increasing potential of the Supersport grid. Irishman and series newcomer Eugene Laverty led six of eight laps in the first part of Sunday’s Supersport race, but with the track still not fully dry, several riders suffered a crash and a red flag was called. On the restart, it was championship leader Cal Crutchlow on his Yamaha R6 who raced within inches of Parkalgar Honda’s Eugene Laverty in the remaining fourteen laps. The two of them passed each other several times with breathtaking manoeuvres, but it was Crutchlow who took the win by fractions of a second with a last lap performance which broke the track record, registering a time of 1’38.868. Crutchlow thus went home with a lap record 1.32 seconds, faster than the lap record set in 2008 by Broc Parkes, and also 0.53 seconds below the Best Lap qualifying time also set by Parkes in last year’s Misano round. Local star Massimo Roccoli of Intermoto Czech took his Honda to the third podium spot, his best result this year, and a roar from the crowd in the paddock showed their appreciation. Pirelli’s new front tyre solution brought to Misano was a successful step in the search to constantly improving the DOT solutions offered to the general market. The consistency of lap times and high grip level even on the final lap was evidenced by performances by the two top finishers of this round’s Supersport race. Race Standings – Supersport Pos. Rider Bike Team Race time 1 C. Crutchlow Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha World Supersport 36’51.032 2 E. Laverty Honda CBR600RR Parkalgar Honda +0.263 3 M. Roccoli Honda CBR600RR Intermoto Czech 16.289 4 J. Lascorz Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki Motocard.com 20.894 5 M. Aitchison Honda CBR600RR Honda Althea Racing 21.615 Championship Standings (YTD) – Supersport Pos. Rider Bike Team Points 1 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha World Supersport 160 2 Eugene Laverty Honda CBR600RR Parkalgar Honda 146 3 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda CBR600RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 108 4 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki Motocard.com 86 5 Anthony West Honda CBR600RR Stiggy Racing Honda 75 6 Andrew Pitt Honda CBR600RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 73 7 Fabien Foret Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha World Supersport 63 8 Mark Aitchison Honda CBR600RR Honda Althea Racing 61 9 Michele Pirro Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni 48 10 Massimo Roccoli Honda CBR600RR Intermoto Czech 40 Superstock 1000 AIR HUMIDITY 43% AIR TEMPERATURE 24°C TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 40°C Qualifying first on the grid for the Superstock was Ducati Xerox’s Junior team rider Xavier Simeon, who registered a new Best Lap just over 0.7 seconds faster than 2008, when the track was changed to its current format. The start of Sunday’s first race was difficult to watch when Domenico Colucci’s bike stalled on the starting grid and a rider from the last row of the grid was unable to avoid him, causing a collision halting the race, which was then postponed to the afternoon. Due to the varying weather conditions of the day, the Supertock 1000 race was shorted to nine laps, all of which were led by Maxime Berger, who won the Assen race but was unable to finish at Monza due to technical problems. Berger was followed nearly the whole race just a few seconds behind by Ducati Xerox’s Junior rider Xavier Simeon. The podium was completed by the Yamaha of Sylvain Barrier, who by just 0.3 seconds bumped out Monza race winner Claudio Corti. With a surprise sixth place finish of Davide Giugliano on his MV Agusta F4 312R, the Superstock race saw five manufacturers in the top six places. With a strong grid of nearly 40 riders on some of the top racetracks in the world and virtually stock production 1000cc machines, the Superstock is the ideal place to take the proven DIABLO SUPERCORSA solutions and demonstrate their potential. At Donington, we shall all see whether Ducati’s Simeon has the staying power to maintain his lead and repeat the manufacturer’s win from 2008. Race Standings Superstock 1000 Pos. Rider Bike Team Race time 1 M. Berger Honda CBR1000RR Ten Kate Honda Racing 15’07.296 2 X. Simeon Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Junior Team +5.596 3 S. Barrier Yamaha YZF-R1 Garnier Junior Racing Team 8.647 4 C. Corti Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 Suzuki Alstare BRUX 8.907 5 M. Magnoni Yamaha YZF-R1 Bevilacqua Corse 9.066 Championship Standings (YTD) Superstock 1000 Pos. Rider Bike Team Points 1 Xavier Simeon Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Junior Team 80 2 Claudio Corti Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 Suzuki Alstare BRUX 74 3 Maxime Berger Honda CBR1000RR Ten Kate Honda Racing 66 4 Javier Fores Kawasaki ZX-10R Team Pedercini 51 5 Sylvain Barrier Yamaha YZF-R1 Garnier Junior Racing Team 43 Superstock 600 AIR HUMIDITY 58% AIR TEMPERATURE 22°C TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 33°C Pirelli’s popular DIABLO SUPERCORSA SC2 tyres, which power the Superstock classes, showed little abuse from the abrasive Misano circuit, even after a day of huge temperature changes. However it was Yamaha’s Italia Jr. Transimeno team, consisting of championship leader Danilo Petrucci of Terni and his teammate Marco Bussolotti of Ancona who stole the Superstock 600 show, battling to a fantastic finish and crossing the finish line just 0.1 second apart. Bussolotti was challenged five out of the ten laps by another Yamaha of Giuliano Gregorini, who ran off the track just two laps from the end of the race. Belgian rider Vincent Lonbois completed the top three spots for Yamaha, keeping the first Honda of Eddi La Marra out of the podium classification. Disappointing performance today from British rider Gino Rea of Ten Kate Honda, who needs to make up a 17 point gap in the next six races in order to take the championship away from the Italian. The MTM Racing Team rider Lonbois is just two points behind Rea, so he could be a key challenger in the the two mid-season races of Donington and Brno. Race Standings Superstock 600 Pos. Rider Bike Team Race time 1 D. Petrucci Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Italia Jr. Transimeno 17’13.058 2 M. Bussolotti Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Italia Jr. Transimeno +0.103 3 V. Lonbois Yamaha YZF-R6 MTM Racing Team 0.381 4 E. La Marra Honda CBR600RR Team Lorini 3.560 5 J. Guarnoni Yamaha YZF-R6 MRS Racing 3.933 Championship Standings (YTD) Pos. Rider Bike Team Points 1 Danilo Petrucci Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Italia Jr. Trasimeno 75 2 Gino Rea Honda CBR600RR Ten Kate Honda Racing 58 3 Vincent Lonbois Yamaha YZF-R6 MTM Racing Team 56 4 Jeremy Guarnoni Yamaha YZF-R6 MRS Racing 54 5 Marco Bussolotti Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Italia Jr. Trasimeno 46 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Injured Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama endured difficult conditions in the rain-affected first race in today’s World Superbike eighth round at Misano in Italy, and ended the 24-lapper in sixth place. He opted for a harder rear spring in race two, but it didn’t work as well as he had expected and he finished in 11th position. Fonsi Nieto ended with a 18th in race one, but improved to 12th in race two. Ben Spies (Yamaha) won the rain-affected first 24-lapper with Shane Byrne (Ducati) second and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third. Race two started in the dry and, apart from a few spots of rain, continued to remain a dry race: Jonathan Rea (Honda) had a race-long battle with Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), but held them both off to record his maiden World Superbike victory. Yukio Kagayama: “That was a difficult weekend and today was very tricky because of the changing conditions in the first race. I felt fairly comfortable for the first three-or-so laps, but the track dried so quickly so, after a few more laps, we decided to pull in and change bikes. But my second bike had a half dry/ half-wet setting and my feeling with it was not so good. I pushed as hard as I could, especially when I was fighting with Nori, but I had to settle for sixth place. I made a mistake by choosing a harder rear spring in race two and wasn’t able to pick up the pace. Sorry to my team. Overall though, I found a good feeling with my bike this weekend, but I am disappointed not to get the results I expected.” Fonsi Nieto: “I started with full wets but the track dried very quickly and I didn’t have any confidence with the grip. We changed bikes and I think I progressed quite well, but I saw a blue flag and thought some really fast rider was going to pass, so I pulled over. But it was just the guys behind me and they all went past and I had lost three or so places! I wasn’t happy about this and by the time I recovered, it was too late. I made a good start in the second race and found a good pace. The bike’s balance felt good, but towards the end of the race I began to have problems with the front brake. I had a good battle with Max Biaggi and finished with a positive feeling.” Race 1: 1 Ben Spies (USA-Yamaha); 2 Shane Byrne (GBR-Ducati); 3 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati); 4 Jakub Smrz (CZE-Ducati); 5 Noriyuki Haga (JPN-Ducati); 6 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare Brux); 7 Jonathan Rea (GBR-Honda); 8 Tom Sykes (GBR-Yamaha); 9 Shinya Nakano (JPN-Aprilia); 10 Matthieu Lagrive (FRA-Honda), 18 Fonsi Nieto (ESP-Suzuki Alstare Brux). Race 2: 1 Jonathan Rea (GBR-Honda); 2 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati); 3 Noriyuki Haga (JPN-Ducati); 4 Jakub Smrz (CZE-Ducati); 5 Carlos Checa (ESP-Honda); 6 Shane Byrne (GBR-Ducati); 7 Tom Sykes (GBR-Yamaha); 8 Leon Haslam (GBR-Honda); 9 Ben Spies (USA-Yamaha); 10 Max Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia), 11 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare Brux); 12 Fonsi Nieto (ESP-Suzuki Alstare Brux). Championship points: 1 Haga 292; 2 Spies 244; 3 Fabrizio 237; 4 Rea 167; 5 Biaggi 135; 6 Haslam 134; 7 Sykes 130; 8 Checa 109; 9 Smrz 108; 10 Kiyonari 98; 11 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 91, 14 Max Neukirchner (GER-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 75 , 23 Fonsi Nieto (ESP-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 8. SUPERSTOCK 1000: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Claudio Corti took fourth place at Misano today to keep in touch with new championship leader Xavi Simeon (Ducati). Corti qualified seventh on the grid and was fighting for a podium when he was hit by Davide Giugliano (MV). He managed to stay onboard, but lost time recovering and had to settle for fourth at the end of the race. The race had been moved from the morning, due to torrential rain, and took place in the afternoon with a race distance of 9 laps. Maxime Berger (Honda) comfortably won the race with Simeon second and Sylvain Barrier (Yamaha) third. Claudio Corti: “It was difficult today because I don’t like this track and I had to start from seventh position, so maybe getting fourth is not so bad. I was chasing a podium place towards the end of the race, but Giugliano hit me and the time it took me to recover was enough to finish fourth. I felt a little vibration in the first four or five laps and lost a little concentration. It was caused by a plastic cover and once it fell off, I felt no more vibration, so I charged again. I am not happy with my result today and it was all down to me and not the bike or the team. I will improve at Donington and will be chasing the top spot on the podium.” Superstock 1000 Results: 1 Maxime Berger (FRA-Honda); 2 Xavier Simeon (BEL-Ducati); 3 Sylvain Barrier (FRA-Yamaha); 4 Claudio Corti (ITA-Suzuki Alstare Brux); 5 Michele Magnoni (ITA-Yamaha); 6 Davide Giugliano (ITA-MV Agusta). Championship points: 1 Simeon 80; 2 Claudio Corti (ITA-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 74; 3 Berger 66; 4 Fores 51; 5 Barrier 43; 6 Beretta 36. More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsports: FRUSTRATION FOR PBM KAWASAKI AT MISANO After a string of encouraging results in the Hannspree World Superbike Championship in recent races, PBM Kawasaki World Superbike Championship Team riders Broc Parkes and Jamie Hacking failed to add to their respective points tallies after a disappointing day at Misano in Italy. Australian ace Parkes and British-born American Hacking showed some promise during Friday’s practice sessions at the Italian Riviera circuit which was playing host to round eight of the fourteen round series but with the weather forecast not favourable they knew it was important to get as high up the grid as possible. Unfortunately, despite qualifying for Superpole, neither rider could improve and they were to start today’s two races with Parkes in 19th and Hacking in 20th aboard the www.supercasino.com, Vent-Axia and Kick Energy-backed Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10Rs. Race one started wet and both riders were circulating in the points when it became necessary to pit in order to change to dry tyres but Hacking missed his best opportunity to do that and score potentially a top ten placing, and dropped to 16th at the flag, one place ahead of Parkes. Parkes blew the start in race two but recovered to claim 17th place at the end of the 24 lap race but Hacking had a contretemps with another rider, and was forced off the track as a result, before eventually claiming 22nd place at the flag to leave the team points-less for the first meeting in five. Broc Parkes: “It’s been a mixed bag weekend for me. I was happy with Friday’s fifth place but we struggled in Superpole to get a flying lap in and I missed sector two for the first time this year. The rain in race one obviously made conditions really difficult and we chose the wrong tyre so I really struggled with grip as it dried up and by the time I changed tyres it was too late to make up any major ground. In race two I got a bad start and I still didn’t feel like we had the right direction on the bike so really struggled in the corners. We tried so many things over the weekend but with little improvement. Battling in 16th and 17th place is really disappointing for me and the team so I can only hope that we have a better meeting at Donington.” Jamie Hacking: “This weekend definitely didn’t go the way I wanted it to go. Qualifying didn’t go our way and we were lucky to make it to Superpole from Friday’s time but I still couldn’t get a decent lap time in the weather conditions to improve into a better grid spot. In the first race I wasn’t clear on the rules regarding the tyres as in the States, the tyres you start on are the ones you finish on so I didn’t see the board telling me to pit until it was too late so I basically shot that race away which was really disappointing as I felt we could finish at least in the top ten. In race two I got a decent start but I tried to go a bit steady into the corners when it was crowded so I didn’t make the same mistake as at Miller, but I lost places so I was pushing hard and unfortunately ran into the back of someone later on and went off track so was trailing in last until I could move only a few places forward. I’m really, really disappointed for the team and for myself and I just hope that I can make up some ground at Donington.” Paul Bird, Team Owner: “It’s been a really disappointing weekend for the team and I feel that we’ve gone backwards, not forwards after some really good progress in previous races. We threw away some decent results here in Misano as we showed we could do some decent times with Broc in fifth on Friday and I know Jamie has real potential so I feel we should have done better. We need to refocus and get our positive direction back ready for our home race at Donington.” Paul Risbridger, Team Manager: “It’s been a disastrous weekend for the team after a positive start on Friday. Broc was running in third and fifth place and whilst his performance in Saturday’s Superpole was matching Friday’s, he wasn’t able to get a clear lap on a qualifier so he missed out on Superpole two. It’s always going to be difficult starting from the grid positions we had and the conditions didn’t help us either. Jamie had a good wet set-up but was not able to take advantage as unfortunately he failed to pit at the correct time and missed a window to change onto dry tyres. In race two both riders lost positions at the start and the race pace was disappointing and to finish outside the points after the progress we’ve made is not good enough. We have to quickly refocus to raise the bar ready for Donington Park.” The next round of the Hannspree World Superbike Championship takes place this forthcoming weekend at Donington Park in Great Britain.