FIM Superbike World Championship Losail International Circuit Doha, Qatar March 14, 2009 Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Ben SPIES (Yam YZF-R1), 18 laps 2. Noriyuki HAGA (Duc 1098 F09), -1.274 seconds 3. Max BIAGGI (Apr RSV4), -1.622 4. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Hon CBR1000RR), -1.845 5. Tom SYKES (Yam YZF-R1), -5.117 6. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000), -9.512 7. Shinya NAKANO (Apr RSV4), -9.514 8. Jonathan REA (Hon CBR1000RR), -12.621 9. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), -13.842 10. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), -13.884 11. Leon HASLAM (Hon CBR1000RR), -13.888 12. Shane BYRNE (Duc 1098R), -14.913 13. Carlos CHECA (Hon CBR1000RR), -15.762 14. Regis LACONI (Duc 1098R), -15.920 15. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000), -19.565 16. Broc PARKES (Kaw ZX-10R), -21.759 17. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 1098R), -28.523 18. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Suz GSX-R1000), -40.499 19. Brendan ROBERTS (Duc 1098R), -43.761 20. Luca SCASSA (Kaw ZX-10R), -44.669 21. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Hon CBR1000RR), -48.955 22. Matteo BAIOCCO (Kaw ZX-10R), -3 laps, pitted 23. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), -1 lap, DNF, retired 24. Michel FABRIZIO (Duc 1098 F09), -5 laps, DNF, retired 25. David SALOM (Kaw ZX-10R), -10 laps, DNF, retired 26. Tommy HILL (Hon CBR1000RR), -12 laps, DNF, mechanical 27. Ayrton BADOVINI (Kaw ZX-10R), -17 laps, DNF, retired World Championship Point Standings (After 4 of 28 races): 1. Haga, 85 points 2. Spies, 75 3. Neukirchner, 40 4. Biaggi, 38 5. Haslam, 36 6. Sykes, 32 7. TIE, Laconi/Rea, 30 9. Nakano, 27 10. Kagayama, 25 More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: DOUBLE VICTORY IN QATAR FOR SPIES Texan moves to second in World Superbike standings DOHA, Qatar (March 14, 2009) It was a perfect weekend for new World Superbike star Ben Spies. The Yamaha ace earned the pole with a Losail Circuit Superbike track record, then went on to win both rounds of the Middle Eastern stop of the series. His sweep this weekend gave Spies three victories in four outings and moved him into second in the World Superbike Championship standings – 10 points behind series leader Noriyuki Haga. A poor start in race one put Spies as low as fifth place early on. The three-time American Superbike champ was not flustered by dropping four positions, instead he stayed focused a methodically worked his way back to the front of the field. “I wasn’t too concerned,” Spies said of his slow start in the first race. “We were all bunched up and I knew I was close enough to stay with the leaders. It was important for me to get up to Max [Biaggi] and Nori [Haga] and fast as I could. You don’t want to let those guys get away.” By lap five Spies moved to third and began closing on leaders Biaggi and Haga. On lap 13 of 18 Spies took advantage of slight mistakes by both Biaggi and Haga and moved his factory Yamaha R1 into the lead for the first time. Once in the lead Spies gradually pulled away and crossed the finish line 1.893-seconds ahead of Haga. Biaggi was a close third. In race two Spies got a better start and tagged along with the same pair of leaders from race one – Haga and Biaggi. The young Texan moved past Biaggi, who was turning in a stellar performance on the new Aprilia, and then set his sites on top man Haga and his Ducati. Spies, on the No. 19 Yamaha, took over first on lap six and quickly pulled clear of Haga. “In one second he was 100 meters ahead,” Haga explained, before joking. “Ben is 10 years younger than me. This is why I could not beat him today.” In the second half of the race Spies expanded is lead over Haga to three-and-a-half seconds, before backing off on the final lap and winning by a margin of 1.274 seconds. “He [Haga} set a really good pace in the first few laps,” Spies explained of race two. “In the first race we were lacking just a little bit in acceleration and it was hard to race with him. In the second race I put my head down and tried to close up. Once I got to him I tried to keep the same rhythm going. When I passed for the lead I went as hard as I could for the next ten laps and was able to open up a gap and brought it home. It was a better race for me than the first one because I was able to concentrate on my lines and ride my own race.” Spies was happy for the perfect weekend in Qatar, saying he was especially proud of his accomplishment of winning over two racing legends like Haga and Biaggi. “I’ve been a fan of both of these guys for years. They’re two of my favorite riders. Nori and Max rode really good. It’s hard to make up points on Nori when he keeps finishing second. He deserves it. Hopefully we can go to Valencia and be up front again. It was a good weekend. It’s not always like this, but we’ll take them when they come.” Spies now looks ahead to the next World Superbike round in Valencia, Spain on April 5. “The tracks are going to get tougher from here,” Spies admits. “I think it’s going to be harder for us to turn in the kind of performances we did this weekend. On the other hand the crew is doing a great job with the bike and if it continues to improve then it’s going to make my job that much easier.” The Qatar races can be watched in the U.S. today (Saturday) on Speed TV starting at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group/InFront Motor Sports: Spies (Yamaha) does Qatar double at Losail Yamaha’s WSBK rookie rider Ben Spies took a spectacular double win in the second round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at the Losail circuit in Qatar. The 24 year-old Texan powered to his third win in the opening four races, dominating both today’s 18-lappers and twice finishing ahead of Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia), who were classified second and third to make up identical podiums. Race 1 Poleman Spies made his attack six laps from the end, and immediately pulled out a gap that allowed him to administer his lead until the flag. There was a great scrap for the runner-up slot between Haga and Biaggi, with the Japanese rider getting the nod. For Aprilia it was their first podium since returning to WSBK, and the Italian manufacturer’s competitiveness was confirmed by fourth place for Shinya Nakano. Fifth went to Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate), the first Honda rider to the flag, who managed to hold off the attacks of the determined British duo of Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) and Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike). Troy Corser scored an encouraging ninth place for BMW, while Kawasaki notched up their first points in this year’s championship with a 14th place for Broc Parkes. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) had disappointing races, both riders crashing out. Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike): “It was an extremely tough race, I had an OK start and when I got to the back of Nori and Max, we were all very strong on separate parts of the track. I was lacking a little bit off the last corner and it was very hard to make the pass, but once past, I put my head down and was able to keep it clean for the win despite a couple of mistakes.” Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox): “It was quite hard at the end, I got a good start and after a few laps I was able to pass Max on the straight. A few laps more and he passed me again and it was difficult for me to catch up. I pushed on the last lap and did it and was very happy with the result.” Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing): “I tried to keep up and have a good rhythm without losing concentration. We have a new bike and every session we try to improve, but it’s not easy to win right away. These guys did a great job, I rode very hard and today I was comfy, both front and rear, and looking good.” Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 36’06.304 (160,93 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1.893; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 2.168; 4. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 12.061; 5. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 12.597; 6. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 12.971; 7. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 13.570; 8. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 19.306; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 19.388; 10. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 20.981; 11. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 21.164; 12. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 21.994; 13. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 22.917; 14. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 27.218; 15. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 31.602 Race 2 Spies also went on to take the win in race 2, confirming himself and his Yamaha to be the strongest combination in this early part of the season. This time the Texan had a different strategy, taking control in the early laps of the race and then gradually pulling away. Behind there was another terrific scrap for the runner-up slot between Haga and Biaggi, and once again second place went to the Japanese rider, who holds on to his points lead in the table. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda Racing) scored an excellent fourth place, but was unable to get in amongst the podium battle. Fifth place went to Sykes, while Neukirchner just got the edge over Nakano in a photo-finish. BMW made a major leap forward with Corser running fifth in the early stages, both the Australian and Xaus scoring top 10 points finishes. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) had a day to forget with a second DNF finish in two races. Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike): “Nori set a really good pace the first few laps. We were lacking just a little in acceleration and it was hard to race with him, but I put my head down and closed up, kept the same rhythm and passed him. It was a better race for me than the first one because I could concentrate on my lines, but it’s going to be hard making up points on him if he keeps finishing second. It was a perfect weekend, they’re not always going to be like that but we’ll take them when we can.” Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox): “I am really tired but happy for the result in race 2. When Ben passed me, I tried to stay with him but he is very fast. In one second he was going to 100 metres so I could not catch him! We made a good job, and I am leading the championship. Today, for me, Ben is ten years younger than me so that’s why I lose!” Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing): “It was a great race, we confirmed our potential and the feeling we have on this track, which has always been good to me. I think the bike works well, we still have to improve but we are very pleased with the result. For sure we know these guys are a little bit quicker, they run hard and deserve what they did, but I am confident to improve during the season and get some good points.” Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 36’02.126 (161,241 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1.274; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1.622; 4. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1.845; 5. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 5.117; 6. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 9.512; 7. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 9.514; 8. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 12.621; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 13.842; 10. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 13.884; 11. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 13.888; 12. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 14.913; 13. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 15.762; 14. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 15.920; 15. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 19.565 Points (after 2 of 14 rounds): 1. Haga 85; 2. Spies 75; 3. Neukirchner 40; 4. Biaggi 38; 5. Haslam 36; 6. Sykes 32; 7. Laconi 30; 8. Rea 30; 9. Nakano 27; 10. Kagayama 25. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 85; 2. Yamaha 81; 3. Honda 51; 4. Aprilia 41; 5. Suzuki 40; 6. BMW 27; 7. Kawasaki 2. FIM Supersport World Championship The second round in Qatar saw the crowning of a new talent in World Supersport. Thanks to a perfect slipstreaming dash to the line, Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) scored his first win in the category. The Irish rider held off the attacks from reigning champion Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) to take the win. Former points leader Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) only finished fourth after making a mistake at the final curve, which opened the door for Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) to gain his first WSS podium. Seven Hondas placed in the first ten positions, including the Veidec Racing and Hannspree Althea machines of Robbin Harms and Matthieu Lagrive in fifth and sixth. Garry McCoy took the ParkinGO Triumph 675 to an encouraging seventh place, while Joan Lascorz could only manage thirteenth with the Kawasaki. Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Czech Honda), Phillip Island podium finisher Anthony West (Stiggy Racing) and Barry Veneman (Hoegee Suzuki) made up the top 10. Results: 1. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 37’06.285 (156,595 kph); 2. Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 0.063; 3. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 0.625; 4. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 0.711; 5. Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 5.200; 6. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 5.233; 7. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 9.538; 8. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 9.551 Points (after 2 of 14 rounds): 1. Pitt 40; 2. Sofuoglu 38; 3. Laverty 36; 4. Crutchlow 29; 5. West 23; 6. Lagrive 15; 7. Roccoli 15; 8. Harms 12. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 50; 2. Yamaha 29; 3. Triumph 15; 4. Kawasaki 11; 5. Suzuki 9. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Ryuichi Kiyonari of the Ten Kate Honda Racing team missed a podium finish by 0.2s in the second of today’s two second round 2009 World Superbike championship races at Losail in Qatar. Both 18-lappers were won by American Ben Spies, with Noriyuki Haga claiming two second places and Max Biaggi two thirds. Kiyonari’s fourth followed an eighth place finish in race one as his Honda team-mates, Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea, both claimed a handful of points to put a frustrating weekend behind them. In race one, Checa took fifth after starting from seventh on the grid, but could do no better than 13th in the second outing after suffering chatter problems in both races. Jonathan Rea, meanwhile, having been near the top of the timing sheets during practice and regular qualifying, struggled with his grid position of 17th following yesterday’s difficult Superpole event. The 22-year-old battled throughout both of today’s encounters, taking 12th in race one and eighth in race two. Ryuichi Kiyonari race one 8th, race two 4th In race one I had a very bad start and had to push hard at the beginning. After that it was difficult to keep the lap times. We changed the tyre for race two and things felt much better, but, again, I had to push very hard and was maybe a bit too aggressive with the throttle at the beginning, trying to catch the leading group. When I reached Biaggi, I didn’t have enough left to get past him. I hoped he might make a mistake to let me on to the podium, which would have been the best reward for my team who have worked so hard. But it didn’t happen, so I had to accept fourth place. Carlos Checa race one 5th, race two 13th I had quite bad chatter again in race one. We thought we had eliminated this problem after Phillip Island, but it was back and gave me quite bad arm pump. Unfortunately, it was even worse in race two and I also had a bad start which meant I had to try to pass many other riders. With the problems we had, I didn’t really have the confidence to push as hard as I wanted. We’ll work on everything before we get to Valencia and hope for better things there. Jonathan Rea race one 12th, race two 8th Today has been one of mixed emotions in fact, it’s been quite a weird weekend. We were right up there on Friday and Saturday morning, but went the wrong way and Superpole was not good. So, we went back to Friday’s settings for the races today and I got a pretty good start in the first one, but got bad arm pump. The guys in the Clinica Mobile sorted it out for race two and everything felt much better; but from 17th on the grid, I couldn’t quite catch the leading group so I had quite a lonely race. I had one or two moments with the front, but I’m happy with the way I rode and I’m looking forward to Valencia now. Ronald ten Kate team manager Obviously we have not had the results that we were looking for or that the hard work of the team deserved. Jonathan rode well in the second race and showed that he’s starting to find better race-craft, being new to the class. The highlight of the day was Kiyo’s ride in race two. A podium finish would have been a nice reward for everyone but it wasn’t to be. We will work hard between now and Valencia to get better results there. 2009 World Superbike championship, round two Losail, Qatar Results (5.38km, 18 laps) Race one: 1 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 36’06.304s, 2 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati +1.893s, 3 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia +2.168, 4 Shinya Nakano (JPN) Aprilia +12.061, 5 Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +12.597, 8 Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing +19.306, 12 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +21.994. Race two: 1 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 36’02.126s, 2 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati +1.274s, 3 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia +1.622, 4 Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing +1.845, 8 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +12.621, 13 Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +15.762. Championship standings after two of 14 rounds: 1 Haga 85, 2 Spies 75, 3 Max Neukirchner (GER) Suzuki 40, 4 Biaggi 38, 5 Leon Haslam (GBR) Honda 36, 6 Tom Sykes (GBR) Yamaha 32, 8 Rea 30, 13 Kiyonari 21, 14 Checa 21. More, from a press release issued by Sterilgarda Team: Team Sterilgarda leaves Qatar with a sixth and twelfth place. Shane Byrne had a very good race 1 maintaining his starting position at the end of the first lap. He took sixth place by racing at almost the same level of the riders who finished on the podium. It was a peformance that further confirmed the team’s potential which proved to be above the other private teams. In race 2 the Englishman managed to gain some positions at the green light, but wasn’t as consistent as in race 1. When the team checked the machine at the end of the race, they discovered that the back tyre had been spinning on the circle causing chattering when entering the corner thus preventing the rider to be as incisive as he normally is. Nevertheless, it was a round that confirmed the team can once again aim high in spite of the great level of the championship and the fact that this year seven manufacturers are competing in the WSBK. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 6th place, 12th place: “It was certainly a more satisfactory race than the previous one. I had a great race 1 battling Checa, but after a disappointing first round it was very important for me to finish the race. The sixth place is a good result, but I could’ve done better in race 2, especially after that great start that took me on fourth position. Nevertheless, I knew from the start that something wasn’t going the way it should, as the back tyre was spinning on the circle. I had to kind of give up a little and try to get as much as possible. Unfortunately, in the last few corners I was passed, I lost a lot of positions and finished twelfth. However, the team have done a great job and fighting for the podium in the next rounds is possible in spite of how hard-fought the competition is”. MARCO BORCIANI – team manager: “It was a good but at the same time bitter-sweet race despite Byrne putting on a great performance. I’m not sure if we would’ve finished on the podium in race 2 but I would’ve loved Shakey to fight till the end. Unfortunately, we were unlucky once again. However, we finished first among the private teams. It was one small satisfaction which doesn’t change our objective at all that of being always in the leading pack as in today’s race 1”. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: THREE TOP TENS FOR BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT! BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus rode superbly in both the two 18-lap races in Doha today and earned themselves three top ten placings! Troy finished ninth in both races and Ruben took 13th in race one and followed that with a hard-fought for tenth in race two. Today’s tremendous results were all the more spectacular considering that Ruben and Troy had started the races from the fourth row of the grid after a problems in Superpole yesterday. But almost more special than the top ten finishes was the sight of Troy in fourth place after two laps of race two! The Aussie had blasted off the line superbly from 16th on the grid and stunned everybody by crossing the line in fifth place at the end of lap one. By lap two he had stormed into fourth – a position he held until lap four. Although he ended the race in ninth, his spell in fourth place made up for all the disappointment the past two days and gives Troy, Ruben and the whole team a tremendous boost before the next race in three week’s time. Troy – Race 1: 9th, Race 2: 9th After practice and qualifying, we were a bit disappointed about our prospects of any good results from the fourth row of the grid. Overnight we found a solution to our top speed problem and that gave me a slim chance today. In race two, I made one of the best starts of my life, saw a gap and just went for it! It felt great to be up front with the race leaders and although I knew it wouldn’t last, it was great while it happened. At the moment, we are about half a second down on bike and chassis set-up and if we could cut that gap we’d be competitive for sure. It certainly doesn’t help starting from row four and, at Qatar, that probably means you lose seven or so seconds on the first lap and you have to spend the rest of the race playing catch up. To get two top tens today is certainly more than I was expecting before the season started and shows that the bike has real potential. After three weeks or so away, we’ll now be able to return to our workshops, analyse all the info and get the work started for the next round. Ruben – Race 1: 13th, Race 2: 10th I’m really happy with the races today and although there’s lots of work to do, I think Troy and I did a great job. I’m very happy with race two, because I ended nearly nine seconds closer to the front then in race one. On my sighting lap for race two, I thought it might be better to go longer on the rear sprocket. I knew that it would be a problem on the start, but it was a risk I wanted to take. And it wasn’t a good start, but I soon got into a good rhythm. My biggest surprise was seeing that Troy was fourth! I was jealous because I wanted to be there! I just kept pushing hard and I managed to catch Troy towards the end of the race. I thought about trying to pass him, but thought ‘Ruben don’t do anything stupid’, so I stayed behind. Then Haslam overtook me two laps from the end and pushed me out of the top ten, but I said ‘No, no, no!’ and made sure I got past him before the finish so that Troy and I could both be in the top ten. Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director) The most important thing this weekend is that we have learnt a lot, but I must also say that the results today make me more than happy. Troy did an amazing job in both races and the great work between the two riders helped us get both in the top ten in race two. Considering that our team is still learning, I think this is a great achievement this early in the championship and I’d like to thank them and riders for all the hard work here and at Phillip Island. Friday was ‘Black Friday’ for us, but today our results mean we can all leave Qatar happy. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: NORIYUKI HAGA (DUCATI XEROX) AND HIS 1198 BACK ON THE PODIUM TWICE TODAY IN QATAR Losail (Qatar), Saturday 14th March: in the second round of the 2009 World Superbike Championship, taking place today at the International Circuit of Losail in Qatar, Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) returned to the podium after powering his 1198 to a second place finish in both of this afternoon’s races. In Race 1 Noriyuki made a great start and was up in second place behind Aprilia’s Max Biaggi for the first twelve laps before both riders were passed by American Ben Spies on the Yamaha who held the lead to take the win. Noriyuki and Max spent the last few laps battling for second and it was the Ducati Xerox rider who kept the pace to ride his 1198 to a second place finish, taking important championship points in the process. Unfortunately Michel Fabrizio had less success and after making up several places, from fourteenth to seventh, in the first seven laps, a technical problem meant that he had to deactivate the bike’s anti-spin, without which he suffered a fall. In Race 2 it was once again Noriyuki, Max and Ben who fought for the lead, with Ben ultimately winning and proving that he had the stronger package on track today. Noriyuki was determined to repeat his first race performance and finished once again ahead of Biaggi, replicating the podium of Race 1. Michel did not make the best start and was down in seventeenth place in the first lap. He tried to catch up as he did in the first race but the lack of rear grip forced him to stop in the garage where the rear tyre was changed. Michel exited once again and registered his fastest lap of the race but concluded his race early due to the two lap gap that had built up during his pit-stop. Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 2nd; Race 2 2nd) “I am very happy with today’s results because we maintain the championship lead. Race 1 was a hard race for me, and I had to really fight hard with Ben (Spies) and Max (Biaggi). In the first laps I was holding the pace with Max no problem but then I started to have rear tyre problems and it became harder to keep up. Ben passed us both and there was no way either of use could catch him; I enjoyed racing with Max but the closing laps were hard. Race 2 was almost the same, another race against Max. I held the lead for the first five laps with Max behind but then, as before, Ben took control and got away from us both. Anyway, good results and good points for us and thanks to my team for putting together a great bike after some initial difficulties on Thursday.” Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 DNF; Race 2 – DNF) “Today is a day to forget; we must move on. In Race 1 I had a technical problem with the anti-spin so I deactivated it but riding without that electronic support was hard and caused me to fall. In the second race I decided to come into the box after eight laps to change the rear tyre that had caused me problems from the first lap. The tyre was changed and I went back out but the gap that had opened up prevented me from fighting for points and so I concluded my race early.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY STORMS TO A PAIR OF NINTHS! Troy stunned everybody by storming to a pair of ninth places in the second round of this year’s Superbike World Championship at Doha today. His achievement was all the more spectacular considering that he had started from the fourth row of the grid after problems in Superpole yesterday. But almost more exciting was the superb start Troy made in race two and the sight of him in fourth place on lap two! Although it couldn’t last, it was a sign of the potential of the new BMW S 1000 RR and gives Troy and the team great hopes for the future. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) won the two 18-lap races today, with Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia) taking second and third respectively in both. Troy – Race 1: 9th, Race 2: 9th It was great to be in fourth place in race two and although I knew I’d get passed, it was fun while it lasted. I made a really good start, saw a gap and just went for it. I was fifth at the end of lap one and then passed Byrne and got into fourth by the end of lap two. I managed to hold it until lap four, but I must have surprised a few people by just getting into the top four in the first place! Starting any race from the fourth row of the grid is never easy, but it’s a long, fast drag down to turn one here and then a series of corners where it’s very difficult to overtake, so it’s easy to lose time. Before the season began, I would never have thought we’d get into the top ten so soon, especially when you consider how many good riders and very experienced teams there are out there. Today we beat people with faster bikes and more experience than we have and that just shows how strong our team is. We lack experience with this bike for sure, but we can only get that by track time and that is our disadvantage at the moment. I feel we are about half a second down on set-up and chassis and although that’s not a lot, it is something we need to cut in order to be more competitive. We’ve been away from our workshops for over three weeks now, so it’ll be good for us to get back, go through all the data and carry on the hard work. But, as I have said before, the S 1000 RR has a good base and is already showing its potential. I think it won’t be long before we will be challenging on a regular basis, though it would help us all if we could at least start the races a bit further up the grid! More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Parkes In The Points WSBK, Losail, Qatar, 14 March 2009 Broc Parkes secured a fighting 14th place in the second round of the World Superbike Championship in Qatar, getting his championship points score off the mark. His team-mate Tamada had already lost any hope of contention for points after a big highside crash at turn five in the morning warm-up session, a crash which broke his left big toe and caused a suspected dislocation of his right hip. He went to the local hospital for checks and missed the two Losail races. He now goes back to Japan for more medical checks and treatment. The first race of the day gave the first points of the season to Broc, as he battled hard for a top ten finish in the early stages, and slid back slowly to record 14th place and take two championship points. A dramatic near fall in the second race dropped him back from the potential points scoring zone, and despite another determined ride he missed out on a single point by just two seconds. The team now heads to Valencia for more pre-race tests, with Parkes 20th in the championship standings. The next round is on April 5, in Valencia, Spain. Broc Parkes: “We got good points in race one and I worked really hard in race two to get one more again, but it didn’t quite happen. We had a good start in race one and got away in the second bunch. The group had about four or five riders in it but I couldn’t stay with them, so I dropped back a little bit. I was in the points, and I wanted to maintain that position. In race two I had a really big moment about five laps in, and I was out of the seat and nearly highsided off. Two guys passed me and it took me maybe two laps to regroup. Basically it was a fight from then on but Kagayama was a little bit faster. This weekend we have learned a lot, I feel better than I did leaving Phillip Island and our pace is a lot better. We are definitely closer, so we can go back to Europe ready to regroup.” Makoto Tamada: “It was a very big crash I had in warm-up, and I went very, very high before landing hard. I remember everything about it, but I don’t know whether there was some oil down or it was something else. I broke my left big toe and took a big hit on my pelvis; so back in Japan we will get it checked up again. I cannot stand on my right leg right now. I should be OK for the Valencia race, for the test I am not sure yet.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Spies cleans up with sensational double win in Qatar Yamaha rider Ben Spies lived up to the hype again in Qatar today, riding an incredible two races to take his second and third consecutive victories in the Losail heat. Dropping to fifth from the start of the first race, the three-time AMA champion moved up to third position on lap four to tuck in behind race leader Max Biaggi and second placed rider Noriyuki Haga for most of the race. The super calm Texan waited for his moment six laps from the end to make his move. As Haga moved out to look up the inside of Biaggi, Spies took the opportunity and passed him on the inside, before taking Biaggi on the next corner as the Italian race leader ran wide. From the moment he took the lead Spies win was never in doubt as he cleanly pulled away from the battle for second. Spies’ team-mate Tom Sykes had a frustrating start, dropping several places up to ninth position before fighting his way back through to finish seventh. Race two saw Spies dominate again, after initially dropping a couple of places from the start line, he moved up behind Haga and Biaggi again before moving out to take the lead on lap seven. The American superstar then put in a sensational performance of perfect laps, increasing the comfort zone until taking the chequered flag in style, comfortably ahead of second place Haga. Spies leaves Qatar in second place in the standings, ten points behind Haga in the championship. Spies also takes the new lap record for the Qatar circuit away with him this weekend. Tom Sykes got a better start to race two and fought with Yukio Kiyonari and Troy Corser in the opening laps for fifth position. Fighting behind the leading pack Sykes held his own with an impressive race pace, putting in consistent laps to finish the race in fifth position. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team “It was an extremely tough first race, I got an ok start and got to the back of Nori and Max after a few laps. All three of us were strong in different parts of the track so it was really interesting. It was very hard to pass them both, It was when Nori was looking up the inside of Max, that I had my chance to get inside of him, and then Max ran a bit wide so I got through. Once I got it done I got my head down and kept it clean, it was good enough to win. In the second race Nori set a really good pace first for a few laps so I just tried to keep the same rhythm. Eventually I managed to get past and just kept my head down and tried to open up a gap. It was a hard race, but a better race for me than first one as I could concentrate on riding my lines. Hopefully when we go to Valencia we’ll be up there fighting at the front again! A good weekend for the team, they’re not always like that but we’ll take them when they come.” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team “I was very disappointed with race one, I didn’t get the best of starts but it was turns one and two that really let me down so I played a lot of catch up and needed to make it happen. In race two we changed a couple of things on the bike and got a decent start. I tried not to get into trouble in the first two corners and got a couple of people in front of me who I didn’t want there so put my head down and eventually took them. We got a nice gap behind us and so I was looking ahead and trying to work onto a podium position. At one stage I thought we were there but struggled in a couple of places and had to override the tire so lost a bit of pace. The team has been great, we’re taking it step by step so hopefully we’ll be on the podium in Valencia!” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “The weekend went really well for us, both races were fantastic for Ben and Tom also did a very good job. We are improving and getting closer to the championship lead. Thanks to everyone as what we’ve done is the result of a really great team; here, the riders, Japan, everyone is working very well together so a big thank you for everybody.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Alstare Brux: A WEEKEND TO FORGET, BUT MAX HOLDS THIRD IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER A SUPERB SIXTH IN RACE TWO. The Qatar round of the 2009 Superbike World Championship will not be happily remembered by Max, Yukio and the Suzuki Alstare Brux team, but they have already brushed aside all negative thoughts and are focussing on the next round in Valencia in three weeks. Max crashed heavily in this morning’s warm-up, fortunately without injury, ran off the track twice in race one and then crashed out after five laps. He recovered from all that superbly to take a tremendous sixth place in race two. Yukio had the misfortune to be hit by another rider on lap two of race one and was forced into the huge gravel trap at the first turn. By the time he was able to rejoin the track, he had lost thirty seconds and was dead last. From then on, it was a lonely race for the Japanese rider but he kept going and finished 22nd at the flag. In race two, Yukio had problems with the electronics and could not brake hard and steer the bike the way he wanted when fighting with a group of riders. But, just like race one, he kept going, battled hard and managed to get 15th place. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) won the two 18-lap races today, with Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) and Max BIaggi (Aprilia) taking second and third respectively in both. Max – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 6th I think my result in race two was good. I know that I could not have got any higher and, after all my crashes this weekend, it was good to leave Qatar with good finish. It has been a tough weekend for us. We made some mistakes and my crashes gave the team a lot of extra work to do. I want to say a big thank you to my team for doing all the work so quickly, but also to Yukio’s mechanics before they helped us a lot. My day didn’t start well because Troy (Corser) and I collided in the morning warm-up. It was on the brakes into turn one and I was lucky to escape without injury. In race one, I ran off the track twice because I missed my braking points and then crashed – probably because I was trying too hard. At least race two went well and I was happy to finish sixth after starting from 19th on the grid. We’ll have to do better in practice, qualifying and Superpole in the future, so that we don’t have to start so low down the grid. I’m going to forget about this weekend and look forward to better things in the next round in Valencia. Yukio – Race 1: 22nd, Race 2: 15th This was not such a good weekend for me and I know we have to improve for sure. In race one I was hit by another rider and forced off the track. I think I lost about 30 seconds and by the time I got back on the track everybody had gone! The rest of the race was very lonely for me, but I wanted to complete the race so that I could give information and data to my team. All weekend I have not been so happy with my bike in the turns. I am not sure if the problem is electronics related or what, but the bike is not braking as I want and it is not accelerating out of the turns like I want. It is probably to do with some adjustments so we must find out what is happening and then make the adjustments to improve the bike. I am disappointed with this weekend because I am a racer and I want to do well. I have had some good results in Qatar in the past, but this weekend is probably one I should forget. More, from a press release issued by Honda: KIYONARI JUST MISSES PODIUM AS LAVERTY WINS IN SUPERSPORT Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) came within 0.223 seconds of his first 2009 podium finish in race two at Qatar today, making up for his disappointment at qualifying 12th in Friday’s Superpole. His fourth place in the second race was the single best result by a Honda Superbike rider in the second round of the championship, although Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) came close to matching it in race one. In the first 18-lap contest Checa finished fifth from his seventh place qualifying position in Superpole. Kiyonari’s dreadful start delayed his push forward but he lapped consistently to move up to eighth at the end of the race. Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) battled it out for 11th in the opener, with Haslam getting the better of his fellow ex-BSB rider. Tommy Hill (Hannspree Honda Althea CBR1000RR) took the final point for 15th, while Roby Rolfo (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR) entered the pits to retire with only three laps gone. He would also retire in race two. Behind Kiyonari’s impressive push forward in race two, Rea managed to secure an eighth place finish, ahead of a tight group of three riders, only one second behind him. One of those riders was Haslam, who took his second 11th place finish of the day from an 18th place grid start. Checa was being held back by chatter problems in right hand corners in race two, but persevered to finish 13th. Rolfo and Hill failed to finish after suffering technical problems. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Squadra Corse Italia Honda CBR1000RR) was 20th in race one and 21st in race two. After four races in the opening two rounds, Noriyuki Haga leads the championship on 85, with today’s double race winner Ben Spies second, on 75 points. Haslam remains the highest placed Honda rider, in fifth spot, with 36 points. Rea is eighth, on 30. Kiyonari and Checa share a 21 point total, 13th and 14th respectively. The 18-lap Supersport race in Qatar was a fabulous multi-rider fight throughout, just like the opening round at Phillip Island two weeks ago. There was a different victor this time, with Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) capitalising on his second place grid spot and winning from fellow front row qualifier Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR). Today’s win was the first for Laverty in World Supersport, and also the first for his Parkalgar Honda team. He was riding a 2009 specification CBR600RR, with Pitt and Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) on 2008 machinery. Pitt posted a new lap record, 2’02.577, on lap 12. Pole man Cal Crutchlow was third on his Yamaha, with Sofuoglu third in qualifying but fourth in the race, albeit only 0.711 seconds from the win. He suffered in the race somewhat after crashing twice earlier this weekend. In the championship chase, Pitt’s two runner-up places so far put him on 40 points, with Sofuoglu on 38, and Laverty on 36. Privateer Robbin Harms went fifth in the Qatar race on his CBR600RR, with Matthieu Lagrive (Hannspree Honda Althea CBR600RR) sixth in both race and qualifying at one of his favourite circuits. Phillip Island podium finisher Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR) had a tough time by comparison today, ninth in the race after being 12th on the grid. Laverty’s team-mate Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) worked hard through practice and the race to take 12th place, from a qualifying spot on the fourth row. Mark Aitchison (Hannspree Honda Althea CBR600RR) looked set for a top six finish but he crashed out, and restarted to finish 15th, securing a single point. Gianluca Vizziello (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR) moved up from 19th pre-race to 14th in the final classification. All eight Supported Honda riders finished in the points today and Honda now has a 21-point lead in the Manufacturer’s Championship after two rounds. WSB Rider Quotes Ryuichi Kiyonari said: “In race one I had a very bad start and had to push hard at the beginning. After that it was difficult to keep the lap times. We changed the tyre for race two and things felt much better, but, again, I had to push very hard and was maybe a bit too aggressive with the throttle at the beginning, trying to catch the leading group. When I reached Biaggi, I didn’t have enough left to get past him.” Carlos Checa said: “I had quite bad chatter again in race one. We thought we had eliminated this problem after Phillip Island, but it was back and gave me quite bad arm pump. Unfortunately, it was even worse in race two and I also had a bad start, which meant I had to try to pass many other riders. With the problems we had, I didn’t really have the confidence to push as hard as I wanted. We’ll work on everything before we get to Valencia and hope for better things there.” Jonathan Rea said: “Today has been one of mixed emotions. In fact, it’s been quite a weird weekend. We were right up there on Friday and Saturday morning, but went the wrong way and Superpole was not good. So, we went back to Friday’s settings for the races today and I got a pretty good start in the first one, but got bad arm pump. The guys in the Clinica Mobile sorted it out for race two and everything felt much better; but from 17th on the grid, I couldn’t quite catch the leading group so I had quite a lonely race.” Leon Haslam said: “The race pace has proved that we could have definitely run in the top five. I had terrible starts in both races and obviously running off the track in race one didn’t really help, but coming through in eleventh in both races with the pace I ran I have to be happy with that.” Tommy Hill said: “Race one was a little bit harder than everyone planned. After a good start I pushed very hard and I found a fast pace. I was able to overtake some riders but during the middle race I was losing rear grip and I just could not run the pace of the guys in front of me. I had a bit of a battle with Haslam but riding over the limit meant I made a couple of small mistakes and he passed me. My second start was as good as the first one, but starting the fifth lap I felt some vibration coming from my bike and we had to stop.” Roby Rolfo said: “Both races were very complicated. I had an electrical problem in the first race when the bike just suddenly stopped. I felt quite confident after my start in race two. For five or six laps the feeling with the bike was really good and felt I could improve my position. Then the bike started to vibrate in the front and I had difficulties cornering. I just got slower and didn’t manage to hold onto my position. Then I lost speed and dropped back before I had to retire completely.” WSS Rider Quotes Eugene Laverty said: “The last time I won a race was probably Cadwell a couple of years ago. I had to work on my race craft in Phillip Island before being able to come here and take a win. That battle in Australia got me back into race mode. I was braking very hard, my front was so good, but my gearing wasn’t as good as Andrew’s in some places, so he could get past me again. In the last corner I ran-in wide and I was able to get the drive on him. Another fantastic race in WSS and I can’t believe we have had two such good, competitive races to start the season. I dedicate this win to Craig Jones who did all the work bringing the team to this level.” Andrew Pitt said: “I gave everything I had during the race and, although I didn’t win, at least we’ve bagged another 20 points. We struggled early in the weekend but the team has worked really hard again to put a good bike underneath me. Congratulations to Eugene and the Parkalgar Honda team. They were knocking on the door last season and deserve to be there. Bring on Valencia, when we’ll have the 2009 CBR to play with and the straight is a little shorter!” Kenan Sofuoglu said: “I’m not so happy, really. After my two crashes yesterday I was a little bit nervous and then I was losing some speed on the straight to everyone else. I had to try and make up for that by braking late into the corners and that made me a little tired and I began to feel the knocks I received yesterday. Then I made a mistake going into the final corner, when I was third, and this allowed Crutchlow through. Still, I have some more points and it’s not such a bad result considering the tough weekend we’ve had.” Robbin Harms, 5th place, said: “I am more than happy with my result. We had to start from the beginning on again this weekend and we made some big changes. Thanks to my crew I felt stronger every lap during the practices and they gave me a perfect prepared Honda CBR 600RR. My start was good and I was able to follow the front guys. I tried to keep my head cool during the whole race and because my bike wasn’t the strongest one of the field, I didn’t took any unnecessary risks. However, I am here to get a good result. Because of my team I was able to take that fifth place. The way they build up the weekend was great. When we work like this the whole season, I am sure that we are going to take more top five positions.” Matthieu Lagrive said: “It was a good race and I finished in sixth place but I’m not really happy because I was not able to push hard enough to get through the pack. That was the best we could do today. We worked very hard during the practice to improve the set up of my Honda but for sure we need to continue to work to be more competitive.” Anthony West said: “I am just not very happy with the whole weekend. The set up of the bike was good, my crew did a good job on that, but there was just no horsepower. I had a good start and was out with the front group but just kept being overtaken on the small straights between the turns. They just seemed to have more power than me. I came here to win and am disappointed I didn’t get a good result.” Miguel Praia said: “It was important for me that I finish the race after having two crashes in qualifying in just 10 minutes. That meant I didn’t have a good chance at qualifying and starting from 14th was always going to be difficult in the race. I think I could have competed with the group in front fighting for seventh if I had got away a little quicker but overall I am happy with a good 12th place.” Gianluca Vizziello said: “My team has given me good bike to ride for this race, I’m not disappointed with the result, but I know we should be further up front. We will have to work on the issues we encountered here in Qatar and will hopefully get some better results in qualifying in the next race, so we can move closer to the front of the field.” Arie Vos, RES Software Veidec Racing Team, 17th place, said: “Today’s race went pretty well. Of course I would have taken a point with me back home, but I came a little too short today. My machine was not perfect because the first time that I was really able to push, was during the race. I could not do that during the practices so actually I needed a different set-up. Despite that, I felt comfortable on the bike and I needed that. I had a long winter sleep maybe for about 2 years- and in this championship you just cannot permit to get weak for only a second because everybody is riding fast. I learned a lot this weekend and when we go on like this, I am confident about a good result in the upcoming races.” Jesco Günther, RES Software Veidec Racing Team, DNF said: “Immediately after the start they pushed me to the outside and I lost some places. After I was very mad for a moment, I could continue the race and climb up to the fourteenth place. I had the right rhythm and it went pretty easy till I lost the control of the front end and crashed, four laps before the end of the race. Afterwards a defect in the front seemed to be the reason of my crash. Of course I am fed up with this but if I take a look at my laptimes and the way I build up the race, I can only be satisfied. Unfortunately we are leaving Qatar without any points but I am sure that these will come when we go on like this.” Mark Aitchison said: “I am really disappointed with today’s result. When I crashed I was not pushing so much but unfortunately in a corner the front tyre slid and I crashed. Nothing more I can say. My start was pretty good and I felt confident to go forward but I didn’t really have the pace to match the front guys.”