FIM Superbike World Championship Phillip Island, Australia March 1, 2009 Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Ben Spies (Yam YZF-R1), 22 laps, 34:20.457 2. Noriyuki Haga (Duc 1098 F09), -1.286 seconds 3. Leon Haslam (Hon CBR1000RR), -4.213 4. Regis Laconi (Duc 1098R), -4.490 5. Michael Fabrizio (Duc 1098 F09), -6.045 6. Max Neukirchner (Suz GSX-R1000K9), -9.947 7. Jakub Smrz (Duc 1098R), -10.174 8. Yukio Kagayama (Suz GSX-R1000K9), -12.100 9. Jonathan Rea (Hon CBR1000RR), -12.742 10. Tom Sykes (Yam YZF-R1), -20.061 11. Ruben Xaus (BMW S1000 RR), -24.854 12. Shinya Nakano (Apr RSV4), -25.192 13. Carlos Checa (Hon CBR1000RR), -27.162 14. Tommy Hill (Hon CBR1000RR), -29.737 15. Max Biaggi (Apr RSV4), -30.036, ran off track 16. Roberto Rolfo (Hon CBR1000RR), -38.458, ran off track 17. Makoto Tamada (Kaw ZX-10R), -44.453 18. Broc Parkes (Kaw ZX-10R), -45.486 19. Brendan Roberts (Duc 1098R), -46.198 20. Luca Scassa (Kaw ZX-10R), -57.921 21. Karl Muggeridge (Suz GSX-R1000K9), -57.989 22. Troy Corser (BMW S1000 RR), -60.093 23. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hon CBR1000RR), -67.820, ran off track 24. Matteo Baiocco (Kaw ZX-10R), -81.224 25. David Salom (Kaw ZX-10R), -81.276 26. Shane Byrne (Duc 1098R), -11 laps, DNF, crash 27. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Hon CBR1000RR), -15 laps, DNF, retired World Championship Standings (after 2 of 28 races): 1. Haga, 45 points 2. Neukirchner, 30 3. Haslam, 26 4. Spies, 25 5. TIE, Kagayama/Fabrizio, 24 7. Laconi, 22 8. Rea, 18 9. Smrz, 16 10. Sykes, 12 11. Corser, 8 12. Checa, 7 13. Biaggi, 6 14. TIE, Xaus/Nakano, 5 16. Hill, 4 17. Rolfo, 3 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Two top ten finishes for Jonathan Rea were the only consolation from a day of frustration for the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team in the opening round of the 2009 World Superbike championship at Phillip Island in Australia. In the two 22-lap races around the 4.445km circuit, the first won by Noriyuki Haga and the second by Ben Spies, Rea and his two team-mates, Carlos Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari, struggled to find rear grip for their Honda CBR1000RR machines. Jonathan Rea 5th and 9th I managed to get the holeshot in race one and led for three laps, but I was very conscious about preserving the rear tyre so tried to ride as gently as I could. In race two, the pace was just that much quicker and I probably wasn’t aggressive enough in the early part. After I dropped back, I was just eating the rear trying to keep with the others and a couple of mistakes meant I had to ride even harder. Carlos Checa 12th and 13th It’s been a very frustrating day and the problem that I thought would give me the most difficulty, my shoulder, was not a problem after all. I had a bad start in race one and struggled to get back to the leaders without using my tyre. In race two, the start was better but there was no side grip from the start and I just couldn’t do anything about it. Ryuichi Kiyonari DNF and 23rd There’s not very much I can say. I race one, I got T-boned by Ruben Xaus at the Honda turn and that was the end of my race. In the second, I just had no grip from the start, went into the gravel early on and could not do anything. I’m very disappointed because the simulations we did in practice were very promising for the races. Ronald ten Kate team manager There’s no point in trying to disguise the fact that we’ve had a very disappointing day. The race simulations we did suggested that our race set-up was very strong so I have to admit that we’re also a little surprised by these results. The only positive was Johnny’s result in race one but, for sure, we have a lot of work to do in order to perform better in Qatar. More, from a press release issued by FGsport Group/InFront Motor Sport: Haga (Ducati) and Spies (Yamaha) kick-start new WSB careers with wins at Phillip Island Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) took his 1098R to the win in his first race for the factory Ducati squad in the opening round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island, Australia. The Japanese rider got the better of German Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) on the final lap to score his 34th win. The second race saw a sensational maiden triumph for WSB rookie Ben Spies from Texas, who took his Yamaha R1 to the win over Haga. The Australian Round of the championship was watched by a record 69,300 spectators, 6% up on last year’s figure. Race 1 The first race, declared ‘wet’, was held on a totally dry track, and all riders opted for slicks but a few drops of rain did fall in the final stages. The potential of the K9 Suzuki GSX-R was confirmed with third place for Yukio Kagayama, who finished ahead of Michel Fabrizio on the second Ducati Xerox machine. Spies, who started from pole, ended up on the gravel at the second turn, but returned to the track to finish just outside the points in sixteenth. Max Biaggi, second on the grid with the brand-new Aprilia RSV4 machine, finished in eleventh place. The other rookie manufacturer BMW, also had a positive debut after Troy Corser recovered from the fifth row to finish eighth, the Australian setting fastest lap of the race. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) : “One thing that I have is great experience because in 2005 I was in 16th and won a race, so now everybody knows it doesn’t matter where the start position is, we don’t need qualifying! I’m very happy for the win, I have just switched to Ducati, I already had four crashes with the bike, but our team did a great job. In the last two laps it started to rain a bit then on the last lap Max passed me but I put big pressure on him thinking where to pass him. He made a mistake and I won.” Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) : “On the last lap I made a little mistake and that probably cost me the win. The last five laps Nori was in front and I could see that he had a bit better traction on the last corner but I caught him on the last lap and I said ‘I win, I win’ but it was too much and I had a small slide and that was it.” Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) : “I’m happy to get the podium, my last one was in 2007! Both for Max and me our starting positions were not so good, and too many riders caught me in the early laps. But I did a steady ride to third.” Race 1 : 1. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 34’22.631 (170,677 kph); 2. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 0.032; 3. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 5.347; 4. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.587; 5. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 8.491; 6. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 8.523; 7. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098 RS 09 8.766; 8. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 11.589; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 11.721; 10 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 11.761; 11. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 12.609; 12. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 19.096; 13. Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 24.149; 14. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 27.416; 15.Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 28.173; 16. Spies B.(USA) Yamaha YZF R1 28.235 Race 2 The second encounter was all about Haga vs Spies as the Yamaha rider unleashed the R1’s potential. The duel went on until a few laps from the end when the Texan pulled out a slight advantage and powered to the flag. The runner-up slot put Haga, who turns 34 tomorrow, into the lead of the championship on 45 points. Britain’s Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) had a great race for the final podium place, beating the two Ducatis of Règis Laconi (DFX) and Fabrizio to the line. The group also included Biaggi, who ran third for much of the race; on the final lap however the Italian slid off into the gravel, recovering to finish fifteenth. However Aprilia, on their return to SBK after six years, are already looking a competitive force. Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) : “The first race was not picture perfect for us. The second one was really tough, we had a couple of goes in the lead and tried to break but couldn’t do it so I sat and watched Nori. We were strong in the first half but really slow in the back two corners and I couldn’t stay with him, then when the tyres went off we just went to the front with four to go and I put my head down. WSB was rough but good in the end, the new R1 was great in the first weekend for the big-bang motor. It’s such a new machine for the team, hopefully we can get more out of it but for sure it’s a front-running bike. WSB is so tight, people don’t understand how many fast riders there are here, and it was really great out there today.” Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) : “I did a nice start again and then during the race I really enjoyed fighting with Ben. It was hard to pull away from him but in the last five laps my tyres were finished and I couldn’t push anymore and I just kept the second position. I think this weekend we did a good job except for qualifying and now I’m in the lead of the championship.” Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) : “It’s a big credit to the team, three months ago they were just building the bike. It’s the first round and we’re already on the podium. There’s been a big effort and we’ve kind of repaid all that effort. There was a bit of argy-bargy with Fabrizio, I had a tyre mark from him from the first lap and later on in the race we had a bit of a tussle but that’s what World Superbike is all about, it’s a fantastic result.” Race 2 : 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 34’20.457 (170,857 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1.286; 3. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 4.213; 4. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098 RS 09 4.490; 5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.045; 6. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 9.947; 7. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 10.174; 8. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 12.100; 9. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 12.742; 10. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 20.061; 11. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 24.854; 12. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 25.192; 13. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 27.162; 14. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 29.737; 15. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 30.036; 16. Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 38.458 Points (after 1 round of 14): 1. Haga (Ducati) 45; 2. Neukirchner (Suzuki) 30; 3. Haslam (Honda) 26; 4. Spies (Yamaha) 25; 5. Kagayama (Suzuki) 24; 6. Fabrizio (Ducati) 24; 7. Laconi (Ducati) 22; 8. Rea (Honda) 18; 9. Smrz (Ducati) 16; 10 Sykes (Yamaha) 12 etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 45; 2. Yamaha 31; 3. Suzuki 30; 4. Honda 27; 5. Bmw 13; 6. Aprilia 9. FIM Supersport World Championship Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) won a superb opening World Supersport race in a three-way sprint to the line. The Turk, 2007 champion in the category, took the flag ahead of Australian riders Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda). Honda, winners of the mid-range Supersport category for the last seven years, begin the new season with four CBR-RR machines in the top 4 places, with fourth going to Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) of Ireland. For 24 year-old Sofuoglu, the win is his eleventh in the series, while Honda celebrate their 63rd win out of 117 Supersport races. The Yamahas, which looked good in qualifying, finished fifth in the hands of Cal Crutchlow and seventh with Fabien Foret, who raced with a partially dislocated right shoulder following his crash on Saturday. Spain’s Joan Lascorz made his debut for Kawasaki with an encouraging seventh place. The new Triumph 675 also had a positive start, with Gianluca Nannelli finishing tenth and Garry McCoy fourteenth. Results : 1. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 33’42.156 (166,18 kph); 2. Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 0.060; 3. West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 0.153; 4. Crutchlow C. (GBR)Yamaha YZF R6 1.097; 5 Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1.098; 6. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 3.631; 7. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 5.023; 8. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 9.540. Points (after 1 round of 14): 1. Sofuoglu (Honda) 25; 2. Pitt (Honda) 20; 3. West (Honda) 16; 4. Crutchlow (Yamaha) 13; 5. Laverty (Honda) 11; 6. Aitchison (Honda) 10; 7. Foret (Yamaha) 9; 8. Lascorz (Kawasaki) 8. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Tamada Opens Latest Championship Chapter WSBK, Phillip Island, Australia, 1 March 2009 Makoto Tamada improved on his qualifying position in each Phillip Island race but missed out on the chance to score points in two hectic WSB contests. On his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R Tamada finished race one in 18th place, and was 17th in race two, battling chatter for the most part. His team-mate Broc Parkes pulled in during race one when he experienced some technical issues, and in race two he was a second behind Tamada, in 18th place. Makoto was the top Kawasaki finisher in each race, while Parkes was top Kawasaki qualifier from practice, going 16th in Superpole. Tamada had a particularly good ride in race two, from a first lap position of 24th, moving up seven places through the 22-laps. Race one was declared wet, even though the track conditions called for full slick tyres, while conditions were completely dry for race two, meaning the new flag-to-flag rules in WSB racing were not given their first outing today after all. The next round is in Qatar, with raceday to be held on Saturday March 14. Makoto Tamada: “I experienced some pretty bad chattering issues in race one and I found it really hard to push the bike to improve my position. I was surprised that I was able to keep the pace and even though I am not happy with the result, I was happy to finish the race in order to give the team valuable race data. We made some minor set-up changes in race two and although I still had a lot of chatter, it wasn’t as bad as race one – and it was nice to be able to do some overtaking. Like most riders today I struggled a lot with grip but I’m happy to give the team some feedback so we can continue to improve.” Broc Parkes: “In the first race we had a small problem, with the clutch, I think. I felt pretty good on the bike before that. I didn’t get a very good start in race two, faded a fair bit and just lost a lot of grip. I still had issues with chatter but I was determined to finish the race so we can try and get some progress on set-up, and provide data ready for the next race in Qatar.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: New Yamaha R1 and Ben Spies unstoppable at Phillip Island World Superbike rookie Ben Spies proved to be an unstoppable combination with the new 2009 YZF-R1, having qualified on pole position yesterday, he powered to a flawless victory in the second race of the opening round at Phillip Island today. Running at the front from the outset and fighting for top position with Ducati rider Noriyuki Haga, Spies rode a perfect race, the new R1 performed impressively as he kept the pace up to the very end for a well deserved victory. Spies goes to Qatar sitting fourth in the championship standings (only a single point from third), after the Phillip Island race weekend, he is also the first American to win a World Superbike race since fellow American Colin Edwards in 2002. It was a dramatic start to the first race when a late entry into turn two by rider Leon Haslam, forced Max Biaggi to sit up, in turn pushing Spies wide and off the track. Having dropped back several positions he then had to again avoid a coming together between Ruben Xaus and another rider, and in doing so went off track again. The American pole position starter found himself in 26th position with a lot of work to do. Spies put his head down and put in consistently fast laps, finishing the race one position off the points in 16th, and lapping at the end of the race at a similar pace to the race leaders Haga and Neukirchner. Spies team mate Tom Sykes was forced back to 14th in the opening scrum for the first corners of race one but recovered well, making his way up to tenth position. He held the place for the majority of the race and was closing on ninth at the chequered flag. Race two and British rookie Sykes displayed the same consistency that won him the points in race one, dropping initially to 19th before getting his head down and working up steadily to take tenth position and more points for the Yamaha team in his first World Superbike race of 2009. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team “The first race was pretty rubbish for me, but I knew I could come back in race two and fight it out. Unfortunately the incident with Biaggi and Haslam left me no option and forced me off, a double blow to be forced off again shortly after with the Xaus incident! I almost made it into the points and had the pace to do it. Congratulations to Nori for that one. The second race was really tough, I had a couple of attempts to break the lead, and watched Nori as much as possible to see where the opportunities were, we were both keeping the pace really high. I tried to stay as close as possible to him and waited for his grip levels to come down. With four laps to go I felt it was the right moment so I put my head down and charged and just kept going! The Pirelli tires were really good and as it was the first weekend for the new R1 it was really great. We got it done in the end, it was a really clean race and Nori was excellent to race against. There are a few more of these to go so looking forward to the next one in Qatar.” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team “It’s not easy in the first couple of turns with the whole pack! I got off line going in to turn one in the first race and got pushed wide, there were people everywhere! Then going into the Honda hairpin, I was just going underneath Xaus and someone came up the inside and took him out and that pushed me back. The incident lost me three or four seconds, I couldn’t believe it, I guess that’s the nature of Phillip Island! The most positive thing for me was that we made changes with the bike this morning and found a really good setting so I know now I can run race pace and keep at the sharp end, the bike is awesome, especially down the start finish straight. Because the bike was working so well I felt really fresh and able to keep pushing on, I was sure I could get to eighth but I ran out of time. The second race was much of the same, a frustrating start for me, dropping back to 19th place initially, but I got my head down and stuck to my pace and worked back up, taking nine places to finish tenth. I was forced to overuse the tires for the first few laps which meant my race distance suffered a bit. On a positive note I know I’m capable of running consistent times for the front of the pack.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team manager “Everybody was a little disappointed for Ben’s bad luck in the first race, but in the end it worked out well and the second race was great! It was an unbelievable race and a really great result, Ben’s riding was really impressive. Tom did not get a good start for both races but he had good pace and kept it consistently. I think if he can pick up the start then he can do very well too. We’re looking forward to Qatar with a really good feeling. Both riders will have to learn the new circuit at Qatar, so we are at a bit of a disadvantage and we’ll be starting from zero. I’m not too worried about this as they’ve both proved this weekend they can go out on a new circuit and keep with the pack.” More, from a press release issued by Sterilgarda Team: The Phillip Island track seems to be a perennial bugbear for team Sterilgarda. Marco Borciani’s team finishes the Australian round with Byrne retiring twice. Nonetheless, everybody at Sterilgarda is confident the squad can reach higher goals in the next rounds. In spite of everything, the Phillip Island round helped Shane Byrne make himself familiar with the competition. However, Byrne is confident he can redeem himself and do better in Qatar in two weeks time. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | retired, retired: “It was bad luck. I had a good start in race 1, but I noticed that the tyres were slipping in an odd way in the early laps. I tried to recover, but after 7 laps I slipped. Although I had a hand injury, I didn’t give up and started race 2 as well. I had a pretty good start, but after 11 laps, while I was trying to overtake Smrz, I got very wide on the final corner. I tried to hold trajectory but the steering wheel locked up and I crashed. Nevertheless, I started to understand how hard-fought the SBK is, especially in the first laps”. MARCO BORCIANI – team manager: “We’ve had a lot of bad luck on this track. We haven’t done well but we won’t lose heart. We know we have a great rider as he managed to set the third time during warm up despite being the only top rider who doesn’t know the track. He was confident he could score a great result…Nevertheless, I’m sure he will redeem himself in Qatar where he has already raced and factory teams haven’t tested for some time. Anyway, our championship will start in fifteen days time”. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: DUCATI XEROX ROOKIE NORIYUKI HAGA TRIUMPHS IN RACE 1 AT PHILLIP ISLAND Phillip Island (Australia), Sunday 1st March: in a Race 1 that was declared wet but remained dry, Noriyuga Haga (Ducati Xerox) took his first victory on board his new Ducati 1198 today at Phillip Island. Having started from thirteenth on the grid, Noriyuki made a blistering start in Race 1 and was immediately up among the front runners in second place by the end of the opening lap. He remained at the head of the pack for the rest of the race, battling for the lead against Suzuki’s Max Neukirchner who eventually awarded the win to Noriyuki when he made a tiny mistake in the very final lap. The second race came close to being a repeat of the first for Noriyuki as another flying start moved him quickly up to fifth and then first by lap six. This time he had Yamaha’s Spies to deal with and it was a close-run thing, with Noriyuki eventually forced to relinquish the win due to tyre-wear in the final stages. Italian Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio also took home solid points from the first race of the 2009 season, battling against Brits Rea and Haslam and Australia’s Corser, but just missing out on a podium spot and finishing in fourth. Race 2 saw Michel run a similar race, holding fourth place for most of the race before a tussle with Haslam and Laconi finally left him in fifth position at the race’s conclusion. After the opening round of the championship it is Noriyuki that tops the rider’s classification sheets with 45 points, followed by Neukirchner and Haslam. Ducati is the leading constructor chased by Yamaha and Suzuki. Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 winner; Race 2 – 2nd ) “My qualifying was not so good but in Race 1 my start was strong, and I started to fight with Max up at the front almost immediately. There was the possibility of rain so I started attacking right from the first lap. On the last lap Max got past me again but I kept trying and then on the last corner he made a mistake and I was able to pass him. In Race 2 I was again fighting, this time with Ben (Spies) but he was very fast and by the last five laps my rear tyre was finished, so I had to settle for second. I really enjoyed the race and I am very happy; my team has done a great job this weekend and I am feeling very comfortable on my 1198. A fantastic day, thanks to Ducati and thanks to the fans and I’m very happy that my move to Ducati brings my first win in the first race of the 2009 season.” Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 – 4th; Race 2 5th) “All in all, it hasn’t gone so badly. Race 1 was the better of the two for me and the bike and tyres were performing fairly well, I just couldn’t match the pace of Nori and the Suzukis in front of me. In Race 2 I began to suffer rear tyre-wear in the closing laps and couldn’t hold my position ahead of Biaggi and Haslam. We saw today just how tough a championship this will be! Anyway I’ve taken some good points and now we move on to Qatar where I will aim to be on the podium.” More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: SPIES EARNS FIRST WORLD SUPERBIKE VICTORY PHILLIP ISLAND, Australia (March 1, 2009) Ben Spies had a promising debut Sunday in the World Superbike Championship opener at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia. After being bumped off the track in the first race and finishing 16th, Spies rallied in race two and won out in a classic battle with Nori Haga, passing the Japanese veteran with four laps to go and pulling away to a 1.286-second margin of victory. It gave Spies a victory in his debut weekend and made him the first American winner in the series since 2002. It also marked the first world championship victory for the new Yamaha R1 Superbike. In the first race pole-winner Spies was caught up in a near crash on the first lap and was forced off the circuit. He came back on the track and was making up ground when a fellow competitor’s motorcycle blew up right in front of Ruben Xaus, who Spies was drafting. Again Spies had to take evasive action and actually clipped Xaus as he ran off the track for a second time. Spies soldiered on to finish 16th and considered himself lucky to just to find the checkered flag. “I just had to put that first race out of my mind,” Spies said. “It was no one’s fault, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time in both incidents. It was frustrating because I knew I had the speed to run up front. Fortunately I had another race and it made me that much more determined.” Redemption for Spies was just a couple of hours away. In the second leg, Spies sprinted to strong start and led the first five laps. First race winner Nori Haga (the rider Spies pegged to win the championship this season) passed Spies. That started an epic battle between the duo that would last the entire race. Not only was Spies contending with a very fast, seasoned veteran in Haga, he was trying also to hold off the likes of Max Biaggi, Leon Haslam, Michel Fabrizio and Regis Laconi who were battling close behind. “As the race progressed Nori and I were trying to work together to gap the rest of the field,” Spies explained. “It worked out well in the final part of the race and it was pretty much him and me going for the win. I think in the end I just hung it out a little more [than Haga] when the tires started going off.” In the closing laps Spies twisted the throttle on the R1 moving past Haga’s Ducati in the sweeping turn one then pulling away to a 1.286-second lead at the flag. That was the largest gap between first and second of the entire race. Haslam finished third. “It’s great to get a win under my belt,” Spies concluded. “It takes a little pressure off. I feel pretty fortunate to come out of here in fourth after what happened in the first race. Now we go to Qatar and see if we can start chipping away at Nori’s lead.” Spies becomes the first American to win in World Superbike since fellow Texan Colin Edwards won the final round of the series in September of 2002, and is one of the few in series history to win in his debut weekend. Spies leaves Australia in fourth place in the World Superbike standings (just a single point out of third) in spite of not scoring a single point in the first leg. Haga holds the series lead as the championship moves to Qatar and the Losail Circuit on March 14. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: 2009 Superbike World Championship Round 1, Phillip Island, Australia Sunday 1st March Circuit: 4.445 kms. Crowd: 69, 300 (3-day) Conditions: Race 1, mostly dry, overcast. Race 2, dry TROY TAKES A SUPERB 8TH IN RACE ONE AND SETS THE FASTEST LAP! Despite starting from 17th place on the grid, BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Troy Corser stormed through the field to take a tremendous eighth place in the opening race of this year’s Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island. In so doing, he also set the fastest lap of the race – with a time of 1:32.726 – and showed the huge crowd that BMW Motorrad Motorsport are not in the championship just to make up the numbers. In race two, tyre problems forced him out of the reckoning and he should’ve retired. He had numerous lurid slides, but somehow managed to bring his S 1000 RR home, even though he nearly crashed on several occasions. His team mate Ruben Xaus finished 19th in race one, but improved considerably in the second race to finish just outside the top ten. All in all, a great start to BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s Superbike World Championship debut and a portent of things to come. Race one was won by Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), with Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) second and Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) third. In race two, Haga was in contention for a double, but was beaten by America Ben Spies (Yamaha), with Briton Leon Haslam in third place. Troy – Race 1: 8th, Race 2: 22nd A mixed day, but an absolutely great result to start our 2009 campaign. I am happy to get eighth after starting from the fifth row of the grid – my worst ever WSBK position – and I am happy to have set the fastest lap of the race. I rode race one as hard as I have ever ridden before and really had to work for my 8th after my poor grid position. But I had made a good start and I just tried to catch the leaders. The result (and fastest lap) proves that the bike has potential and I can’t wait for it to develop further. Race two was a disaster from the start, but it wasn’t my fault. After just one lap the tyres were sliding around and it was like trying to race on a wet tyre in the dry! I don’t know why there was a problem at all, because the bike was the same, the settings were the same and the only thing that was different were the tyres. It was frustrating and dangerous, and I should’ve pulled in, but I wanted to keep going, finish the race and give as much information to the team as possible. I had two really big ‘moments’ when I was well out of the saddle, but somehow I stayed onboard. How I’m not sure, but it certainly gave the crowd a fright on the last lap! This is the first time that we have done so many laps in one go and now the technicians will have race information to analyse for the first time and from this I am confident that the progress will continue and continue. Ruben – Race 1: 19th, Race 2: 11th For me the results today were not important, but what was important was that Troy and I have given the team a lot of information and data to analyse. Today was the first time either of us have done a race distance and we have learnt a lot more about the bike today. We made the rear sprocket longer for race two and I was much more happy with the bike. I had told the team yesterday that I wanted three teeth longer, but they told me that two was enough. Now I think they owe me a beer because I believe I was right! It’s hard to think that we have made so much progress that we’re battling with the top guys already and when you consider our grid positions, I think we’ve done really well. I’m not happy with 11th, but I’m happy with our performance in the race and know that it could’ve been even better – if it were not for the grid positions. This is just our first step, but already we can see that our future looks promising. Berti Hauser (Director -BMW Motorrad Motorsport) I am happy that we have started at last and I am proud of all the hard work the riders and team have put in these past months. The results today were very different, but we know the reasons for the poor ones and we are confident that we can improve a lot. Troy’s result in race one was overwhelming. He showed what he can do by going from 17th to 8th and setting the race’s fastest lap and it just leaves us to wonder what kind of result might have been possible if he had started from higher up the grid. Ruben improved throughout the weekend. He knew what he wanted changed from race one to race two and in the second race he showed that he can be a top ten rider for sure. Both riders are working well together and that, together with the team’s strength of commitment, means that our goal of the top ten is achievable. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux riders Max Neukirchner and Yukio Kagayama raced their GSX-R1000s to second and third places in the opening race at today’s World Superbike Championship opener at Phillip Island in Australia. And, although both riders experienced grip problems in race two – with Neukirchner sixth and Kagayama eighth – Neukirchner left the circuit holding second place in the Championship. Max Neukirchner – Race 1: 2nd, Race 2: 6th: “I was very happy with the first race and thought I could win it after a big fight with Nori. But I made a little mistake on the last lap and that was enough for Nori to take the chequered flag and push me to second. But for me, second is a great start to the season and it is a good way to say thank you to my team for all the hard work over the winter. I had some problems with chatter in race two and also got caught up in a lot of traffic and found it not easy to get through it. I lost three seconds on the front group and that was too much to make up. The grip level seemed quite a bit down in race two and it was not possible to go any faster. If I had gone any quicker, I may have crashed and I didn’t want that as Yukio and I have not had a single crash all weekend!” Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 8th: “I am so happy to be on the podium again because the last time was a very long time ago – Brno in 2007. I am a racer and I like to win, so the first race was a good feeling for me. The bike was almost the same in race two, but the grip level was much different and I had some chattering and many slides. Also, I had a problem with my left boot and it was not so easy to use the shifter. If I didn’t have that problem, I’m sure I could’ve caught and passed at least two riders in front of me. But it’s a good feeling to be on the podium again and also good because I didn’t crash this weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Alstare Brux: 2009 Superbike World Championship Round 1, Phillip Island, Australia Sunday 1st March Circuit: 4.445 kms. Crowd: 69,300 (3-day) Conditions: Mostly dry, mostly overcast. Max 2nd in the championship. Max and Yukio on the podium in race one! The opening race of this year’s Superbike World Championship was a tremendous one for Team Suzuki Alstare Brux. Max took a superb second place after a long battle with Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), with Yukio not far behind in third. Both Suzuki Alstare Brux riders experienced grip problems in race two with Max ending sixth and Yukio eighth. Despite the problems in the race two, Max left Phillip Island circuit, second in the championship, behind Haga, with Yukio fifth. It was a great start for the Suzuki Alstare Brux team and one that bodes well for the next race and the season ahead. Max – Race 1: 2nd, Race 2: 6th I was very happy with the first race and thought I could win it, after a big fight with Nori. But I made a little mistake on the last lap and that was enough for Nori to take the chequered flag and push me to second. But for me, second is a great start to the season and it is a good way way to say thank you to my team for all the hard work over the winter. I had some problems with chatter in race two and also got caught up in a lot of traffic and found it not easy to get through it. I lost three seconds on the front group and that was too much to make up. The grip level seemed quite a bit down in race two and it was not possible to go any faster. If I had gone any quicker, I may have crashed and I didn’t want that as Yukio and I have not had a single crash all weekend! Yukio – Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 8th I am so happy to be on the podium again because the last time was a very long time ago – Brno in 2007. I am a racer and I like to win, so the first race was a good feeling for me. The bike was almost the same in race two, but the grip level was much different and I had some chattering and many slides. Also, I had a problem with my left boot and it was not so easy to use the shifter. If I didn’t have that problem, I’m sure I could’ve caught and passed at least two riders in front of me. But, it’s a good feeling to be on the podium again and also good because I didn’t crash this weekend. More, from a press release issued by Honda: HASLAM SCORES A PODIUM FINISH AT FIRST WSB ROUND Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR) first took a sixth, and then a third place finish, in the 22-lap World Superbike Races at Phillip Island to leave the opening round third in the overall championship standings. Haslam had qualified sixth on the grid and rode with patience until the last laps of race two to secure his podium, the best single performance by a Honda Superbike rider today. Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) finished race one as top Honda rider, taking fifth place after a strong early performance from his front row grid slot of third. He led for three laps, from the first to the third. In race two he could not get away with the leading group and finished ninth. Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR), Roby Rolfo (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR) and Tommy Hill (Hannspree Honda Althea Honda CBR1000RR) finished their opening race of the year in 12th, 13th and 14th places respectively, with Checa doing well to overcome the shoulder injury he suffered last week in testing. He had qualified impressively, in seventh place. In race two Checa was 13th, experiencing serious traction issues from the start. Hill was 14th again and Rolfo finished just out of the points,16th. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) was taken out of the first race at Honda corner, on lap one, and was unable to restart, His luck got little better in race two, as he could only finish in 23rd place after losing rear grip early on. Race one was taken by Ducati rider Noriyuki Haga, with race two won by WSB rookie Ben Spies on his Yamaha, some 4.213 seconds up on Haslam. Rea had been fastest of all in regulation qualifying, before Superpole started. The new Superpole contest had been a highlight of the weekend before the races started, with Rea, Haslam and Checa playing a strong hand to make it through the final three stages of qualifying. Kiyonari secured 10th place in Superpole, In the championship standings, Haslam is a strong third, with Haga on 45 points, Max Neukirchner second on 30, Haslam on 26 and Spies on 25. Rea is eighth, on 18 points, and Checa 12th. Hill and Rolfo have four and three points respectively. WSB Rider Quotes Jonathan Rea – Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: 5th 9th. “I managed to get the holeshot in race one and led for three laps, but I was very conscious about preserving the rear tyre so tried to ride as gently as I could. In race two, the pace was just that much quicker and I probably wasn’t aggressive enough in the early part. After I dropped back, I was just eating the rear trying to keep with the others and a couple of mistakes meant I had to ride even harder.” Carlos Checa – Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: 12th 13th. “It’s been a very frustrating day and the problem that I thought would give me the most difficulty, my shoulder, was not a problem after all. I had a bad start in race one and struggled to get back to the leaders without using my tyre. In race two, the start was better but there was no side grip from the start and I just couldn’t do anything about it.” Ryuichi Kiyonari Ten Kate Honda: dnf crash 23rd. “There’s not very much I can say. I race one, I got T-boned by Ruben Xaus at the Honda turn and that was the end of my race. In the second, I just had no grip from the start, went into the gravel early on and could not do anything. I’m very disappointed because the simulations we did in practice were very promising for the races.” Leon Haslam – Stiggy Racing Honda: 6th 3rd. “The first race was really good, the bike was working well and got into a good rhythm. I was up in 4th place on the first lap of the race and had some really good battles throughout. On the last lap, whilst in 6th place, I got past Jonathan but was unable to keep him behind me. I finished sixth which was a good start of the day for us. It’s our first time out there racing and to be able to bring home a podium finish is just fantastic! The team and myself have made good progress throughout, and even though I know we still have more to come, the bike and the team is obviously just great.” Roby Rolfo – Stiggy Racing Honda: 13th 16th. “I made a bad start and got touched by a rider in the Honda hairpin, lost my rhythm and some positions. For the remainder of the race I tried to catch up what I had lost and the bike felt good. In race two I got a much better start, but again on the first lap in the same corner I got hit by another rider and was forced to run onto the gravel. I re-joined, but in last position. I lost over 10 seconds and all I could do was to get in a good pace and push my way up thorough the pack.” Tommy Hill – Hannspree Honda Althea Honda: 14th 14th. “We had a really good start to race one, even though I could not do a practice start in the damp conditions this morning. I hadn’t done even one practice start before, so I was happy to have got away as well as I did. This is my first real race back for a year and half. I got straight into the row in front and changed my line in the first few corners. So I went from 20th to 9th! Halfway through, grip dropped off, mainly in the rear, so I had to adapt my style.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY STARTS WITH A SUPERB EIGHTH IN RACE ONE. Troy took the all-new BMW Motorrad Motorsport S 1000 RR to a tremendous eighth place in the opening race of this year’s Superbike World Championship and managed to also set the fastest lap of the race! Considering that Troy had to start from the fifth row of the grid and that this year’s series is the most competitive in WSBK history, Troy’s achievement on a brand new bike is nothing short of spectacular. With eighth under his belt in race one, expectations were high for race two, but almost from the start of the second 22-lapper it was obvious that something was wrong with Troy’s tyres. After just one lap, his bike began to slide and it got worse lap after lap. He should’ve pulled in and stopped, but he determinedly kept going despite several nasty ‘moments’. He suffered two massive highsides – the last one taking place on the last lap and throwing him out of the saddle and into the air. Fortunately his bike was still facing forwards and he fell back on the bike and carried on to the chequered flag, but it was more than a close thing. The first race was won by Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), with Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) second and Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) third. In race two, Haga was in contention for a double, but was beaten by America Ben Spies (Yamaha), with Briton Leon Haslam in third place. Troy – Race 1: 8th, Race 2: 22nd That was an up and down day for sure, but I’ll take the positive – my eighth place in the first race. I made a good start and just kept at it. It ended up being one of the hardest races of my life, but I was determined to give it everything I had. I think we showed that the S 1000 RR has potential and I’m sure that there is quite a bit more to come, once we have got further along with its development. As I said before, the team have done a great job to get the bike where it is now so soon and although there’s more work to do, all the signs are good and I am excited about the prospects. It’s just a shame that I had to start from the fifth row of the grid and fight my way through so much traffic. If I’d been higher up the grid, I’m sure the result would’ve been even better. Regarding race two: Probably the less said, the better. The tyres were gone after just one lap or so and from then it was just case of hanging on as best I could and not crash. I don’t know what the problem was because it was the same bike and the same set-up – the only difference was the tyres. I could’ve pulled in (and probably should’ve done!) but I wanted to try and finish the 22 laps and give my team as much information and data as possible, so that’s what I did. The ‘moment’ on the last lap was a big one! I was out of the saddle, in the air and I thinking that this could end in tears. But I was lucky because the bike was pointing forwards and when I came down the bike was under me somehow. I’m still not sure why I didn’t crash, but I’ll take that piece of good luck and not worry about it. I am happy with the bike and know that it has a lot of potential. We’ve just got to keep working hard and the results will come for sure. More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsport: STEADY START FOR PARKES AND TAMADA Having been entrusted with the works Kawasaki World Superbike effort for this year, the Paul Bird Motorsport Team got off to a steady start when the opening round of the Hannspree World Superbike Championship took place at Phillip Island in Australia earlier today. After securing a slot in the all-important new Superpole, Aussie Broc Parkes slotted the Kawasaki ZX10-R into 16th place on the grid for a row four start at his home event whereas Japanese rider, Makoto Tamada ended up in 22nd place, just a further second down. In the opening race, Parkes got a great start and was lying inside the top ten in the early stages before a clutch problem forced him out on lap eight and Tamada showed great consistency throughout the race to end up in 18th place. Race two saw both riders get poor starts and despite some problems with chatter and grip around the circuit near Melbourne, Tamada and Parkes both felt minor improvements and were happy to bring their ZX-10R machines home and complete their first full race distance for the year in 17th and 18th places respectively. Broc Parkes: “The first race was a major disappointment for me as I had a really good start and we had good pace early on but I really struggled with chatter and finally a clutch problem took me out of the race. I didn’t get a good start in race two which set me back further in the field but this is the first race distance on the bike and it was one of the toughest rides I have had in a long time. I was determined to finish the race so we can try and get some progress on set-up and data ready for the next race in Qatar.” Makoto Tamada: “I experienced some pretty bad chatter issues in race one and I found it really hard to push the bike to improve on my position. I was surprised that I was able to keep the pace and even though I am not happy with the result, I was happy to finish the race in order to give the team valuable race data. We made some minor set-up changes in race two and it was better than in race one and it was nice to be able to do some overtaking. Like most riders today I struggled a lot with grip but overall I’m happy to give the team some feedback so we can continue to improve.” Paul Risbridger (Team Manager): “We have started the season with a standard machine specification and our testing and qualifying has been fairly positive. We were not so unhappy with our qualifying position with being only a second off pole position and it was great to see Broc compete in the new Superpole sessions. We’re still learning a lot about the bike and it is clear to us that although the ZX-10R has good speed and is running well, we still have a lot of work to do when it comes to race pace and to get the bike consistently in the points. We are realistic about our objective and we’re looking at seeing some significant improvements over the next few races.” Paul Bird (Team Owner): “I was hoping we could have scored some points this weekend but it just goes to show how hard this championship is. We still have quite a lot of work to do and we always knew these first couple of rounds were going to be particularly tough but with the experience gained, I’m fully expecting us to start getting inside the top fifteen from now on.”