FIM Superbike World Championship Valencia, Spain April 5, 2009 Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Noriyuki HAGA (Duc 1098 F09), 23 laps, 36:46.927 2. Ben SPIES (Yam YZF-R1), -5.105 seconds 3. Michel FABRIZIO (Duc 1098 F09), -6.386 4. Regis LACONI (Duc 1098R), -6.573 5. Leon HASLAM (Hon CBR1000RR), -14.075 6. Carlos CHECA (Hon CBR1000RR), -17.333 7. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000), -19.207 8. Max BIAGGI (Apr RSV4), -20.697 9. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Hon CBR1000RR), -21.015 10. Tom SYKES (Yam YZF-R1), -22.581 11. Shane BYRNE (Duc 1098R), -22.604 12. John HOPKINS (Hon CBR1000RR), -23.952 13. Jonathan REA (Hon CBR1000RR), -29.082 14. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 1098R), -29.277 15. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), -32.384 16. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), -35.125 17. Broc PARKES (Kaw ZX-10R), -38.344 18. Brendan ROBERTS (Duc 1098R), -39.161 19. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Suz GSX-R1000), -39.374 20. David CHECA (Yam YZF-R1), -49.904 21. David SALOM (Kaw ZX-10R), -52.631 22. Tommy HILL (Hon CBR1000RR), -52.966 23. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Hon CBR1000RR), -53.196 24. Luca SCASSA (Kaw ZX-10R), -53.491 25. Roland RESCH (Suz GSX-R1000), -79.946 26. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000), -2 laps, DNF, crash 27. Matteo BAIOCCO (Kaw ZX-10R), -3 laps, DNF, retired 28. Makoto TAMADA (Kaw ZX-10R), -12 laps, DNF, retired 29. Ayrton BADOVINI (Kaw ZX-10R), -16 laps, DNF, retired World Championship Point Standings (after 6 of 28 races): 1. Haga, 135 points 2. Spies, 95 3. Neukirchner, 65 4. Fabrizio, 60 5. Haslam, 58 6. Laconi, 56 7. Biaggi, 54 8. Sykes, 47 9. Kagayama, 35 10. Rea, 33 11. Kiyonari, 32 12. Carlos Checa, 31 13. Nakano, 27 14. Byrne, 26 15. Corser, 23 16. Smrz, 18 17. Xaus, 17 18. Hopkins, 9 19. Parkes, 8 20. Hill, 6 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: It was a tough World Superbike championship third round at Valencia in Spain for Hannspree Ten Kate Honda riders, Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea. Checa’s sixth place in race two was the only reward, as Noriyuki Haga extended his series lead with a double win. Neither Checa nor Rea finished the first 23-lap race at the 4.005km Ricardo Tormo circuit just outside Valencia Rea crashing early on the opening lap after it appeared another rider nudged him from behind. Checa ran off the circuit at the final turn also early in the race but the Spaniard was able to rejoin the fray, albeit at the back of the field. He retired from the race two laps early. In the second outing, both riders got reasonable starts but rear grip problems forced Rea to drop down the field, while Checa was able to fight his way up to sixth the team’s only reward after a difficult weekend. Carlos Checa DNF & 6th Race one was a little bit better than race two, but still not where we want to be. In the first race, my start was not so good and as I approached the final turn behind Tom Sykes, I hit the white line during braking. There was no grip so I had no alternative but to go into the gravel. I tried to get some data from the tyre, but it wouldn’t let me go fast enough to learn anything so I pulled in. My start in race two put me in a better position for braking into the first turn, but when the race settled down I found that I couldn’t open the throttle with the bike on its side. I was able to make up some places and sometimes racing here at Valencia is enough motivation but it wasn’t our day today. Jonathan Rea DNF & 13th I got a pretty good start in race one and had the bike cranked right over coming out of the first right-hander. The next thing I knew I was up in the air, hanging on to the bike but missing the seat when I landed. And that was that. We didn’t really have any information to change anything for race two but it wasn’t great. It’s been a tough few days so all I can do is thank my team for all their hard work this weekend and say that we’ll re-group for Assen and try to get some decent results for the team’s home race. Ronald ten Kate team manager There are no excuses for these results we simply haven’t performed well enough this weekend and we all know that we must improve things from this moment. Everyone is working hard to find a way forward, but we will arrive at Assen for our home race in less than three weeks and we must achieve the results that the hard work of the team deserves. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM VICTORIOUS IN VALENCIA; HAGA DOES THE DOUBLE WITH FABRIZIO SECOND AND THIRD Valencia (Spain), Sunday 5th April: The Ducati Xerox Team celebrated in Valencia today as the two factory riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio took four of the day’s six podium places. Noriyuki and his Ducati 1198 dominated proceedings in both of today’s races, to win both in convincing style, while Michel Fabrizio also enjoyed two fantastic races, finishing in second and third place today at the Ricardo Tormo circuit. In the first race of the day, Noriyuki not only dominated from the offset but also smashed the lap record that has stood since Neil Hodgson’s Ducati days in 2003. Michel did not get as good a start as his team-mate but nonetheless battled his way through the field, as he has often done in the past, to move up from eighth to third before having to contend with a determined Neukirchner in order to secure the eventual second place finish. In Race both Noriyuki and Michel set off with the bit firmly between their teeth. This time it was Fabrizio that made the better start and he was ahead of Haga and Spies for the first couple of laps before being passed by both. Michel held on to the third spot and from lap six onwards the order of the frontrunners never changed, with Noriyuki again beating the lap record he set in Race 1 and gaining steadily over Spies while team-mate Fabrizio maintained third place, keeping a strong Laconi firmly behind him. With today’s results, Haga extends his championship lead to 135 points and holds a 40 point advantage over second-placed Spies, while Fabrizio’s valuable snatch of points here today moves him up to fourth place in the rider classification, with Neukirchner just ahead of him. Ducati continues to lead the manufacturers championship with 135 points. Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 1st, Race 2 1st) “We did a great job today and took two great results. It is very satisfying to take fifty points and increase my advantage in the classification. Unfortunately I didn’t make the best start in Race 1 but I made up time and once I got to the front I was able to build up a bit of an advantage. We didn’t change much for the second race and I was again very comfortable on my 1198. I’ve had good feeling with my bike all weekend and I said yesterday that my plan was to win both races so I’m very happy to have done that! I thank my team, who have been fantastic, Ducati and Xerox and I now look forward to Assen!” Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 2nd, Race 2 3rd) “We did a lot better than I expected too as Valencia is not my favourite track. I hoped for two top five finishes so we exceeded my expectations and I am of course very happy with the results. When I saw Nori get away from us in Race 1 I knew it would be hard to catch him but as we have been going well all weekend I was pleased that the work paid off and that it saw me to the podium. At a certain point in Race 2 I realised that I wouldn’t be able to fight with Ben for second but I stayed focused and held off Laconi who was pushing hard. A good day; I thank my team who have worked so hard all weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: Ten Kate Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari was unable to convert his practice times into significant race results in today’s two 23-lap third round World Superbike championship races at Valencia in Spain. Both encounters were won by Kiyonari’s compatriot, Noriyuki Haga, as the Honda Genuine Accessories-backed rider finished in 12th and ninth places at the 4.005km Ricardo Tormo circuit. Kiyonari had shown good pace on race tyres during the early part of the weekend, but a difficult Superpole yesterday left the Japanese rider in ninth place on the grid. and he found it more difficult to match the times in today’s races. Ryuichi Kiyonari 12th & 9th In the first race, I thought on the sighting lap that the rear felt a little strange but thought it was just because the tyre was cold. When the race started I knew I was going to have some problems and I nearly highsided on the way into the first right-hander at turn three. I had no grip for the remaining 23 laps so 12th was the best I could do. In race two, the start was OK but Troy Corser ran into the side of me in the last turn early on and I lost some time and a few positions. The grip was a little better after we changed the settings, so I was able to regain some places. I caught Biaggi near the end but did not have enough to get past. Valencia is still not my favourite circuit, but I like Assen so I’m looking forward to going there. Ronald ten Kate team manager Kiyo-san has shown that he can do the times of the fastest riders when he is on race tyres. We need to convert that into good qualifying positions and an ability to match those times under racing conditions, which is very different to doing one fast lap. We clearly have work to do and we will be doing nothing else between now and the first practice session at Assen. This is our home race and, of course, we want to perform much better there and for the rest of this season. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Max Neukirchner took a podium in the first race at the Valencia World Superbike Championship round today in Spain, finishing third behind Ducati team-mates Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio. He also led the first four laps of race two, but then began to suffer grip problems. He kept pushing as hard as he could but ended seventh. His team mate Yukio Kagayama finished sixth in race one and was moving up the field in race two from eighth on lap one when he hit a false neutral and was forced into the gravel trap at turn two. He looked to have saved it, but then his bike tipped over at low speed. By the time he got the bike upright and out of the gravel the rest of the field had long gone. He kept going for another 14 laps but, as his back was hurting and there was no prospect of any points, he decided to pull in. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) took advantage of his bike’s ability around the twisty Valencia circuit and stormed to victory in both races. His team mate Michel Fabrizio took second in race one. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) took runner-up spot in race two, with Fabrizio third. Max Neukirchner – Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 7th: “I think that generally this has been a hard weekend for us and the closeness of the lap times in qualifying didn’t make it any easier. We tried many things to make the bike faster and although we improved it, I don’t think it was enough. Race one was very good and I was happy to get a podium. We used the same bike in race two, with the same type of tyre as Haga and most of the other riders but the bike just didn’t work as well as it had done in race one. I managed to lead for the first four laps, but then the grip level went down. Maybe part of the problem was that the track temperature was higher and that affected the characteristics of the bike, but whatever the problem is we have to find a way of adjusting the bike to compensate for it.” Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: 6th, Race 2: DNF: “The feeling of my bike in race one was not so good. I think this was because oil or other liquid from a rider in front of me had got onto my front brake discs and so the brake performance was reduced. So to get sixth is not so bad. We changed to a harder rear tyre in race two and the bike had a better feel and after five or so laps I was beginning to catch the front runners. Going into turn two, I got a false neutral and so the bike went straight on and into the gravel. The gravel was so deep that when the bike nearly came to a stop I could not prevent it from falling over. I picked the bike up and restarted but everybody had gone! I was last by a long way, but I decided to carry on riding in case I could collect any points. My back was beginning to hurt because of Friday’s crash and when I realised I could not get anywhere near the points, so I thought it would be better to pull in instead of risking any further injury.” World Superbike Results: Race 1: 1 Haga (J-Ducati), 2 Fabrizio (I-Ducati), 3 Max Neukirchner (D-Suzuki Alstare Brux), 4 Laconi (F-Ducati), 5 Haslam (GB-Honda), 6 Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare Brux). Race 2: Haga, 2 Spies (USA-Yamaha), 3 Fabrizio, 4 Laconi, 5 Haslam, 6 Checa (E-Honda), 7 Max Neukirchner (D-Suzuki Alstare Brux), Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare Brux) DNF. Championship Points: 1 Haga 135, 2 Spies 95, 3 Max Neukirchner (D-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 65, 4 Fabrizio 60, 5 Haslam 58, 6 Laconi 56, 9 Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare Brux). FIM SUPERSTOCK 100: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Claudio Corti started his debut with the team in the best possible way by winning the first round of this year’s Superstock 1000 FIM Cup in Valencia. The young Italian made a superb start and was never headed on his way to an emphatic victory, nearly five seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Xavi Simeon (Ducati). Claudio Corti – 1st: “This was the perfect start to my career with this great team. I made a good start and took the lead and I must say that I was a little surprised that nobody was very close to me in the first few laps. I thought other riders would catch me, but as the race went on I became more comfortable with my lead and so the race was not such a hard one for me. After the problems we had in practice and qualifying, everything went like a dream in the race today and for that I must thank my team for doing such a great job. I hope more races this season could be like this one, but whatever happens from now on, I will always remember my first victory with the team.” Superstock 1000 Results: 1 Claudio Corti (I-Suzuki Alstare Brux), 2 Simeon (B-Ducati), 3 Berger (F-Honda), 4 Fores (E-Kawasaki), 5 Burrell (GB-Honda), 6 Beretta (I-Ducati). Championship Points: 1 Claudio Corti (I-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 25, 2 Simeon 20, 3 Berger 16, 4 Fores 13, 5 Burrell 11, 6 Beretta 10. More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing: Haslam best Honda in Valencia race Leon Haslam continued his strong performance today as he managed to take a top 5 result home in both Superbike races at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia today. Haslam once again showed the potential of his Stiggy Racing Honda Superbike and finished in fifth place twice over, ahead of the other Honda’s on the grid. After an imperfect start in race two, where he lost one place coming through the first lap from his tenth place on the grid, he regained the lost ground with the determination and grit he has shown in the previous races in Qatar. With an incredible pace in both races he passed the checkered flag in fifth position twice over. John Hopkins made his debut to the series for the Stiggy Racing Honda team this weekend. Despite having to learn every aspect of his new bike and living up to the expectations, the new arrival made his progression step by step as he and his crew worked towards his first Superbike race. Hopkins showed he is as fast off the grid on his new Superbike as he was in MotoGP and came through the first lap of race 2 in seventh position from his sixteenth place on the grid. He lost ground in the first laps after Honda riders Checa and Rea passed him, but regained one place after Kagayama crashed out in front of him. He stayed put in eight position but was unable to close the gap with the riders in front of him. With Biaggi and Sykes on his tail, he was forced to step back due to an unexpected technical problem with his fuel system and finished the race in twelfth position. After the third round in the Championship Leon Haslam claims a fifth place in the standings and remains the fastest Honda in the Championship, while new arrival John Hopkins holds an eighteenth position after his first appearance in the series. Leon Haslam, R1 – 5th, R2 – 5th; “Am happy with my top 5 results today. I didn’t really have the best of starts in the second race and had to pass all the other Honda’s and by the time I caught Neukirchner and passed him for fifth the leading group was already gone. Once again my pace was quick enough to run with the front group if I had the start that I wanted. We made some good progress and got the most out of what we had for this weekend. We’ll concentrate on doing some more development on the bike for the next race. We have to solve the chatter issues and a few other little things, but each time out the bike is getting stronger and I am really looking forward to riding the next race in Assen.” John Hopkins, R1 – 11th- , R2 – 12th; “It definitely was a challenging first round after not riding a bike and dragging a knee since November and then moving straight in and doing two races on one day was a great experience. I want to say thanks to Stiggy for giving me this ride. We experienced a technical problem with our fuel consumption but it is something we need to improve. My start was really good, getting aggressive on my first start and come through in sixth on the first lap was good, but then I lost some ground. Leon pulled away from me and from there it was just a lonely race. With three laps to go I experienced the fuel problems and the riders all came passed me. This weekend was supposed to be a learning curve and I proved that I can do the lap times. We’ll have to work on the setup and get it working right. Leon is definitely setting the standards right now and I will have to try and chase him down.” Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager; “I can only say that I am really happy with the results this weekend. We have John riding for us here for the first time and unfortunately encountered some technical problems we didn’t think we would have. We managed to nearly solve them over the weekend but then John had a few problem in the second race so we still need to do some further development on the system. Leon’s performance was fantastic, to finish 5th in both races is a very good result and again shows us the potential of him, the bike and the team. He also experienced a fuel problem but managed to keep his position. John needed these two races to get used to his bike and settle into the team. He will now have some homework to do and prepare himself for the next round, but he is learning with every outing and I am sure he will be up there with the boys soon. It will be a tough ten days for all of us preparing for the Assen round, but we are all fired after this weekend. We are fifth in the Championship at the moment and the best Honda team, so I am more then satisfied.” More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group/InFront Motor Sports: Haga (Ducati) dominates at Valencia to clinch double win Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) dominated both races in round 3 of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia. In front of 65,000 spectators the Japanese rider notched up wins number 35 and 36 in his ten-year long World Superbike career to lead the table with 135 points. Team-mate Michel Fabrizio also had a positive weekend, the young Italian taking second and third while the remaining podium places went to Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) in race 1 and rookie Texan Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) in the second encounter. Race 1 Haga led virtually from lights to flag after moving past early leader Neukirchner at the start of lap 3, the championship leader adding a chunk of points to his advantage over Spies, who then crashed out while fighting with the German. Fabrizio took the second slot to give the factory Ducati team a 1-2 finish. Front-row man Regis Laconi (Ducati DFX) finished just one place away from the podium, while Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing) was the first Honda rider to the flag ahead of Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare). Yamaha’s race was saved with the positive form of Tom Sykes in seventh ahead of Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing), who recovered well from a lowly grid position. Broc Parkes finished an encouraging tenth for Kawasaki, with Superbike rookie John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda) one place behind. Riders who crashed out included Troy Corser (BMW), who was running fourth in the early laps, and Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who remounted but retired. Noriyuki Haga: “Not so bad! Anyway I had a good feeling this weekend, bike and the team have both been working well. At the start it was good but I had already decided I would go into the lead in the early laps. Finally I kept my own race. Of course I want to win both races today but it’s not so easy. I now have a very good feeling with this bike, it is so easy to ride, that’s why I was able to push, also I did very consistent laps with this tyre.” Michel Fabrizio: “For me Valencia is very difficult but this result is fantastic. I grew a beard to bring me good luck, and it worked so maybe I will keep it now! It’s a great result for the team, we have worked very well from Friday after the first disappointing couple of races.” Max Neukirchner: “Even for us it was really hard. We were always in the top 10 this weekend but didn’t find perfect set-up. But during the practices we changed some things and in the end we found a very good way and I am so happy to finish on the podium. I was in second place for so long, but even with this result I’m so glad for my team and our new sponsor.” Results: 1. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 36’44.766 (150,408 kph); 2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 3.677; 3. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 3.959; 4. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 4.210; 5. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 13.824; 6. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 14.562; 7. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 15.155; 8. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 16.316; 9. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 098R 20.361; 10. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 23.878; 11. Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR30.902; 12. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 31.298; 13.Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 32.660; 14. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 42.156; 15. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 43.040 Race 2 Haga dominated the second race in a similar fashion, this time taking the lead on lap 5. He then pulled out to win by over five seconds, taking a new lap record in 1 minute 34.618 seconds in the process. Spies managed to prevent a second Ducati 1-2 of the day with the runner-up slot but never managed to challenge Haga for the win. Third went to Fabrizio, who again had to hold off Laconi throughout the 23 laps for the final podium slot. Haslam scored another fifth place, again the best Honda rider to the flag, ahead of Checa and Neukirchner, who faded away with tyre problems after starting off well. Biaggi came home in eighth place again, after prevailing in a five-way battle with Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda), Sykes, Shane Byrne (Ducati Sterilgarda) and Hopkins. The final point went to Corser, while Parkes failed to get into the top 15. Noriyuki Haga: “We did a great job this weekend. I think one of the reasons is that after Qatar I did some ‘age training! But anyway today 50 points is a great advantage over Ben and I’m very happy with this double win.” Ben Spies: “I was trying as hard as we could in the first couple of laps, but had a couple of problems and didn’t quite get rolling. By the time we got into second, I would have needed to be right on the back of Nori to stay with him because he was riding at a really good pace. I just didn’t quite have those 3 or 4 tenths today so I will come back at Assen and try to step it up.” Michel Fabrizio: “I didn’t expect these results here at Valencia, at the most a top 5 position, because it’s a difficult track for me. I’m really happy, the team gave me a lot of confidence. It was a really tough battle with Laconi, who was right behind me throughout the race. He brakes really late, I’m amazed he never managed to pass me!” Results: 1. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 36’46.927 (150,261 kph); 2. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 5.105; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.386; 4. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 6.573; 5. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 14.075; 6. Checa C. (ESP)Honda CBR1000RR 17.333; 7. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 19.207; 8. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 20.697; 9. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 21.015; 10. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 22.581; 11. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 22.604; 12. Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 23.952; 13. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 29.082; 14. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 29.277; 15. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 32.384 Points (after 3 of 14 rounds): 1. Haga 135; 2. Spies 95; 3. Neukirchner 65; 4. Fabrizio 60; 5. Haslam 58; 6. Laconi 56; 7. Biaggi 54; 8. Sykes 47; 9. Kagayama 35; 10. Rea 33. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 145; 2. Yamaha 110; 3. Honda 73; 4. Suzuki 65; 5. Aprilia 57; 6 Bmw 31; 7. Kawasaki 8 World Supersport On his third appearance in World Supersport, Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) finally managed to step onto the top of the podium. The British rider made the decisive move at the start of the final lap when he passed Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda), who was unable to respond. Third place went to Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who moved back into the lead of the championship, level on points with Crutchlow, who also set the new lap record in 1’36″865. Just off the podium was Mark Aitchison (Honda Althea), ahead of the Kawasaki of Katsuaki Fujiwara. Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini) finished in seventh place, but had the satisfaction of leading the first three laps. Qatar winner Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) could only finish ninth, while former leader Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) fared even worse with a disappointing 13th place. One of the pre-race favourites Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki) had a race to forget when he was forced to retire with tyre problems. Results: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 38’15.613 (144,456 kph); 2. West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 0.171; 3. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 8.408; 4. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 12.421; 5. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 16.529; 6. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 19.242; 7. Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 26.124; 8. Veneman B. (NED) Suzuki GSX-R600 34.525 Points (after 3 of 14 rounds): 1. Crutchlow 54; 2. Sofuoglu 54; 3. Laverty 43; 4. Pitt 43; 5. West 43; 6. Lagrive 25; 7. Aitchison 24; 8. Pirro 18; 9. Roccoli 17; 10. Veneman 17 Superstock 1000 The opening Superstock 1000 round was dominated from the start by Claudio Corti, who powered away from the front row of the grid into the lead. The battle for the runner-up slot was first between Javier Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini) and Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda), who were then joined by Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox). After a few laps, Corti upped the ante to eventually win the race with a five second lead over his pursuers. The other two podium finishers were Simeon and Berger. Pole sitter Davide Giugliano (MV Agusta) had to retire with a technical problem. Results: 1. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 21’18.839 (146,566 kph); 2. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 4.939; 3. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 7.339; 4. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 11.388; 5. Burrell B. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 15.167; 6. Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 16.927; 7. Jezek O. (CZE) Honda CBR1000RR; 17.129; 8. Magnoni M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 17.855 Points (after 1 of 10 rounds): 1. Corti 25; 2. Simeon 20; 3. Berger 16; 4. Fores 13; 5. Burrell 11; 6. Beretta 10; 7. Jezek 9; 8. Magnoni 8 Superstock 600 Danilo Petrucci made it two Italian winners today in Superstock with an overwhelming victory in the opening 600 class round. After dominating qualifying and setting pole, Petrucci met with no opposition in the race and he took the chequered flag by a comfortable margin of 4 seconds. Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha) was second, with Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) preventing an all-Yamaha podium by holding off Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Italia Junior) for third. Results: 1. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 18’31.326 (142,711 kph); 2. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 3.923; 3. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 4.871; 4. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 5.108; 5. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 9.444; 6. Litjens J. (NED) Yamaha YZF R6 14.817; 7. Kerschbaumer S. (AUT) Yamaha YZF R6 16.528; 8. Guittet B. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 16.743 Points (after 1 of 10 rounds): 1. Petrucci 25; 2. Lonbois 20; 3. Rea 16; 4. Bussolotti 13; 5. Guarnoni 11; 6. Litjens 10; 7. Kerschbaumer 9; 8. Guittet 8. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Spies on the podium in Valencia It was a mixed day for the Yamaha World Superbike Team in Valencia today. Race one saw Ben Spies fall going into turn one on the ninth lap as he moved in to take Neukirchner (Suzuki) for second position. Team-mate Tom Sykes faired better, having started in 16th position following an unlucky tyre decision in Superpole yesterday, he steadily worked his way through the field to finish seventh with an impressive display of consistent race pace. Race two saw Spies touch with Haga (Ducati) on the opening laps, bending his brake lever in the process. Undaunted he stayed on the pace, and although unable to catch Haga he put in consistent fast laps to finish in second position, taking valuable championship points away with him. For Sykes race two was equally impressive, after starting in 16th position he fought his way up to ninth, passing Biaggi and Hopkins in the process. Sitting up to avoid a late braking rider in front he ran wide five laps from the end allowing Biaggi back through and leaving Sykes in tenth position for the end of the race. Spies remains second in the championship with 95 points, trailing leader Haga by 40. Team-mate Sykes leaves Valencia with 47 points, sitting eighth in the championship as they head to Assen for round four. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (DNF, 2nd) “Race one was unfortunate for me, I was pushing really hard to make up for an electrical issue going into the corner and crashed. We tried as hard as we could in race two to make it up. For the first couple of laps I had a couple of small problems and just didn’t quite get rolling and by the time we got into second position I would have needed to be right on the back of Nori to challenge for it as he was riding at a very good pace. I guess I just didn’t have the speed today. We’ll come back at Assen and try to step it up. ” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (7th, 10th) “I got a good start in race one and got past a few in turn one. It was a fairly decent race in the end, I think I could have gone for fifth but Leon Haslam had done a good job in the last few laps and made a big gap. I think we could have been in the top five otherwise. For me it was very difficult in race two, I had a good start, but going into turn two I was held and others came round the outside and went through. I worked my way back up to ninth and was looking good and catching up with Neukirchner but unfortunately got so close to Biaggi and just as we were going into turn one I ran wide a bit and let two or three past. I’ve learnt from my mistakes this weekend, I messed up in qualifying and potentially cost myself two very good results. With the R1 working so well round here it’s a lesson learnt and hopefully won’t let it happen again!” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “We lost points during race one however in the second race we came back to achieve second position which is good for championship points. We’ve learnt from the mistakes of race one. In the end we had a strange weekend with good and less good results on both sides. Both races were tough for Tom from the start, starting from the fifth row meant he had a lot of hard work to do. This gives us more experience for the upcoming rounds, as Ben said, in Assen we will be ready to step it up.” More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: TOUGH DAY FOR SPIES AT VALENCIA Texan comes back from race one crash to take second VALENCIA, Spain (April 5, 2009) Yamaha’s Ben Spies suffered what might best be described as a thorny race day at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit Sunday in Valencia, Spain. After winning three consecutive races and pulling to within 10 points of series leader Noriyuki Haga, Spies lost valuable ground on Haga at Valencia by suffering a race-ending crash in race one. The tough Texan came back and minimized the weekend’s damage however by battling up to second on the factory Yamaha R1 after a poor start in the second leg. Haga had an excellent outing on his Ducati, the veteran winning both legs and matching Spies on the season now with three wins. In the end Spies leaves Valencia 40 points behind new rival Haga in the championship. In the first race Spies, starting from the pole after a record-setting Superpole run on Saturday, got off to a slow start and crossed the line fifth on the first lap. The three-time American Superbike Champion wasn’t rattled. On the second lap he worked his way up to fourth and by lap six he was into third, behind Haga and Max Neukirchner. Spies’ charge came to an abrupt end on lap 10 when he uncharacteristically crashed out in turn one. The damage to his machine kept him from re-entering the race. It marked the first time in Spies’ career (including his four-full season in AMA Superbike) that he crashed and was unable to finish a Superbike race. After the incident a disappointed Spies said he was unable to say for sure what caused him to crash. Spies aimed to rally in race two. He In the second race Spies unintentionally wheelied his Yamaha off the line and again was in fifth after the first lap, but like early in race one, Spies methodically picked off riders and gained position throughout the first six laps of the race. On lap two he passed Regis Laconi. Then it was Michel Fabrizo on lap four and finally Spies moved ahead of Max Neukirchner on lap six to claim second. Once into the runner-up position Spies found he was unable to cut into Haga’s lead. At the finish Haga’s margin over Spies was 5.105 seconds. “I tried as hard as I could,” Spies said of his efforts at catching Haga. “In order to have any chance of beating Nori today I would have had to stay with him from the start. We had some minor issues with our bike that kept me from getting a good start. By the time I broke into second he was too far ahead and riding too well.” In spite of having a sub-par weekend at Valencia, Spies remained upbeat about his prospects moving forward. “It’s still very early in the championship. We knew the Ducatis would be strong here and it proved to be true. We pick it up from here and go to Assen to try to get back on track and see if we can reset and get back to challenging for wins again.” Spies remains second in the World Superbike standings with 95 points to Haga’s 135. The series now moves to Assen, Netherlands on April 26. It will be the first race for Spies at the legendary Dutch circuit. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: ROUND 3 VALENCIA, SPAIN SUNDAY, APRIL 5th, 2009 RACE REVIEW April 5th 2009, Valencia (Spain) Pirelli has set three new lap records at the Valencia Circuit in the four classes which were featured during the first round of European competition in the 2009 World Superbike series. Ducati’s Noriyuki Haga achieved the track record twice in the first of the two Superbike races, posting a time of 1’34.618, nearly four tenths faster than the previous record which dates back to Neil Hodgson’s race on a Ducati in 2003 (1’35.007). Pirelli saw improved results in both Superbike races in respect to 2008, with each race’s total time lasting 17 seconds less, under similar air temperature and track conditions. The Supersport and the Superstock 600 classes also left behind new track records for the Valencia Circuit. Starting from Superpole, the rookie America Ben Spies established a new precedent in World Superbike racing, capturing three consecutive Superpole wins from the start of the racing season, a feat which not realized since Scott Russell’s 1994 season with Kawasaki and never before in a rider’s opening season. Spies’ third Superpole session resulted in a time of 1’33.27 which beat Max Neukirchner’s Best Lap of 2008 by just over half of a second. Cal Crutchlow followed this example by clocking a pole time of 1’35.865, almost a second below Spanish rider Joan Lascorz’s 1’36.618 from last year. Joining Pirelli as a special guest for the weekend was 2009 Dakar champion Marc Coma, who had came to support his countrymen and see Superbike for the first time, especially neighbour and training partner Carlos Checa. Coma just last week returned from Abu Dhabi, where he took first in the UAE Desert Challenge, the second race and win for Pirelli’s new Scorpion Rally tyre developed for this purpose. On lap five of the first Superbike race, Ducati Xerox’s Noriyuki Haga set a lap record of 1’34.862 with his Pirelli DIABLO SUPERBIKE tyres, under the previous time set six years earlier by Neil Hodgson, before Pirelli’s partnership in the series. Ben Spies was fighting to keep pace with Haga Neukirchner, crashing on lap nine such that he could not continue the race. Behind Haga, Michel Fabrizio battled fiercely with Max Neukirchner for half of the race, who he was finally able to pass on the 21st lap, resulting in a 1-2 finish for the Ducati Xerox team. Haga, Fabrizio and Spies all opted for soft front, used at last year’s Monza round but new to Valencia and a medium rear which was the result of winter testing in Kayalami and Portimão. Neukirchner and fourth place finisher Regis Laconi opted for the same rear but instead medium-soft front for the first race. Surely the Ducati bikes fit well at the Valencia circuit, seeing that Regis Laconi’s DFX Corse 1098R came closest to the podium. In fifth place was British rider Leon Haslam, the first of the Honda riders in race one, whose teammate in 11th was a newcomer to the series, former Moto GP rider John Hopkins. The HANNspree Honda team had difficulty finding the right bike setup, with Carlos Checa suffering a crash early in the race and Rea at the very end. Max Biaggi and the new Aprilia demonstrated concrete proof of their performances, for with a soft front and soft rear, he started from the fifth row and managed to climb to eighth position. Race 2 Having already won the first race of the day, Haga made only minor changes to his bike setup for race two and his lead was unchallenged for all but four laps of the race, wining with an advantage of 5 seconds. Yamaha Superbike rider Ben Spies, who took the first three Superpoles of the season and won 3 out of the previous 5 races, redeemed his unfortunate fall in Race 1 with a second place, putting necessary points on the board for the championship. Another duel ensued between Ducati Xerox’s Michel Fabrizio and Regis Laconi (Ducati), with the official Xerox pilot eventually having the upper hand. Fifth place went again to Leon Haslam, once again the best Honda Pilot to cross the finish line. The first five riders utilized the same solutions of Pirelli DIABLO SUPERBIKE in the second race, soft front and medium soft rear. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) had a more difficult time in race two finishing only 7th, and his pace block the advancement of Max Biaggi (Aprilia) whose average time had improved over race one. After an 11th earlier in the day, former Moto GP rider John Hopkins (Honda) closed the 2nd race of his World SBK career in twelfth, clearly demonstrating the immense competition in the SBK paddock, which will be anxious to see how his development throughout the year. More, from a press release issued by Team Sterilgarda: Shane Byrne took ninth and eleventh place at Valencia despite the pain caused by an infection in his left knee. The British rider put on a great performance as he managed to recover positions. His racing pace was very good as usual as he set times that could’ve enabled him finish in the top 5. Unfortunately, Byrne didn’t have a great starting position on the grid because of yesterday’s slip during the Superpole. In race 1, the English rider maintained position at the end of lap 1, sliding from 12th to 13th place. Afterwards he put on a great recovery and had a great duel with Max Biaggi as well. However, the Italian rider passed him by the end of the race because of an electronic gearbox system malfunction that forced Byrne to decelerate and use the clutch to change gear until the end of the race. In race 2, the start was even less fortunate, as “Shakey” jumped to 22nd place after being hit. He recovered positions again. Three laps from the end he reached a group made up by Hopkins, Sykes, Biaggi and Kyonari. He managed to overtake Hopkins in the last lap but failed to do the same in the final sprint with Sykes, who only preceded him by a few hundreds of a second. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 9th, 11th: “I would like to thank the entire team for a wonderful job done. Everything seemed to go wrong when on Friday I was 19th and I was in pain because of the knee infection. We didn’t quit and we worked all together. The feeling on the bike and on the track was great and the machine responded well also. I had two good races despite my starting position. In race 2 I even touched Biaggi and Corser and lost a lot of positions. However, I’m confident that the team has potential to fight for the top. I hope to do just that at Assen when I’ll be recovered physically”. MARCO BORCIANI – team manager: “Shane had a great race at a similar pace as the top riders. Unfortunately, the slip in the Superpole was decisive. It’s a shame “Skakey” coulnd’t pass Sykes as well, as it took him a lot of time to overtake Hopkins”. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Parkes and Tamada Score In Spain WSBK, Valencia, Spain, 5 April 2009 Broc Parkes and Makoto Tamada enjoyed a reward for strong rides in race one at Valencia, with Broc taking a season-best tenth in the first race and Makoto scoring his first points of 2009. In the first race Parkes had been as high up sixth and battled all the way to record a top ten finish after 23-intense laps of action. His team-mate Tamada was in fighting form himself, despite his painful toe injury, going 14th after starting the race from 24th place. The second race saw each rider find troubles they and their technical crews could not have foreseen, as Parkes lost grip from the front and was not able to match his race one pace. Tamada had problem making gear changes in race two and that was to finally force him to retire in the pits. Parkes’ race one performance took him to 19th in the standings, on eight points, while Makoto now has two points and is ranked 22nd. Broc Parkes: “Race one was good. We got a good start and got though the first two corners pretty well, in seventh and running with the front guys. I got a bit of a tow for about four or five laps, then started to drop off and a few other guys came past me. Overall our race pace is much better, and we are getting much more confident with the bike. I am remembering how to ride a Superbike! I’m really enjoying myself actually. Thanks to Kawasaki and all the guys in the team because I had a crash on Friday and the team fixed it well, because when I hopped on the bike on Saturday morning it was perfect. Well done to them all. In race two I could not get any feel from the front tyre for some reason and it was a long race. Everyone’s pace was slower in race two it seems, but we were quite a bit off. But we are looking forward to the next races because race one here showed us what is possible.” Makoto Tamada: “In the first race the result was not so good and yet not so bad, because it was the first time that we got a point. I was sorry to miss the test last week here in Valencia as this put me behind with set up. After the start in race one I pushed hard. We were not so good in braking potential and turning into corners. In race two we changed the settings and braking was good, also turning, and traction was a little better. I lost places at the beginning and had problems making clean gear changes, so we had to come in.” More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: HARD WORKS FAILS TO PAY DIVIDENDS After the closeness of qualifying, Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus were confident that they could attack top ten positions in today’s third round of the Superbike World Championship at Valencia. But, Ruben’s 13th in race one was the best finish of the duo on a day that failed to pay dividends for all the hard work done by the whole team over the weekend. Troy crashed out of race one after just one lap, fortunately without injury, and then took 15th in race two, despite suffering grip problems. Ruben finished 16th but was happy with his race pace in both races – a pace he reckoned would’ve put him in the top eight had he started from the second row of the grid. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) took advantage of his Ducati’s ability round the twisty Valencia circuit and stormed to victory in both races. His team mate Michel Fabrizio took second in race one, with Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) third. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) took runner-up spot in race two, with Fabrizio third. Troy – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 15th I crashed after just one lap of the first race because the bike found a false neutral, so that was that for that one. It’s a big shame, because I had made a pretty good start and was fourth at the end of the first lap. We changed the gearing for race two and maybe it was just a bit too short because I had grip problems with the rear tyre. It wasn’t working well and spinning quite a lot. I nearly crashed a couple of times and was over the front of the bars once, but I was determined to finish the race and that’s what I did. It was a bit frustrating today because although I knew I was in for a tough time (because of our grid position) I really felt I was going to get a couple of good top ten finishes. Ruben – Race 1: 13th, Race 2: 16th The results do not reflect how I feel about this bike. The bike is amazing and I don’t think there’s anything out there today that stops better. Nobody outbraked me at all today and I know that’s not the whole story, but I feel this bike has a lot more potential to come and once we do that, we’ll be flying. In race one, I got distracted by Biaggi’s jump start and it took me a short while to recover, but once I did, my lap times were good. The problem for me in both races is that this track is a bit of a ‘Micky Mouse’ track and it doesn’t suit the power delivery of the bike this weekend. That means we have work to do to make sure the bike works at all tracks and that is part of our development process. My bike does not have this kind of a problem at the fast flowing tracks and it’s all about the engine management. Once we have it sorted out, I’m sure that I will regularly finish in the top ten. Also, I need to focus more before Friday and really be on it from the beginning of the weekend, so that’s something that I will work on. Berti Hauser (Director BMW Motorrad Motorsport) Racing can be a frustrating business and today was hard for us all. I cannot fault the commitment of the riders or the team, but we have to manage a couple of small problems – sooner rather than later. Although, we’re probably not far off what we expected, the closeness of regular qualifying meant that we should’ve gone better in the races. We have some ideas about what to do to improve and we’ll just have to roll our sleeves up and get on with it. Both riders tell me that the bike has big potential, so it is up to all of us in the team to realise this potential as soon as we can. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: FRUSTRATING DAY IN THE OFFICE FOR TROY Although Troy knew that today would be a hard one – because of his grid position – he was confident of finishing in the top ten in the two 23-lap races. Troy’s pace on race rubber had been very good and he made a dream start in the opening race and was in a remarkable fourth place at the end of the first lap and looking set for a good battle until the end. But, on the second lap, his bike found a false neutral at the slow right hand hairpin and Troy crashed out. He and the team altered the gearing for race two and it wasn’t long before Troy was suffering from lack of grip. There were a couple of ‘moments’, including one when he was over the front of the bars, but he kept going and ended 15th. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) took advantage of his Ducati’s ability round the twisty Valencia circuit and stormed to victory in both races. His team mate Michel Fabrizio took second in race one, with Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) third. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) took runner-up spot in race two, with Fabrizio third. Troy – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 15th I guess you could say that today was a bit frustrating for me, but also the whole team. We knew we’d on the pace in the race and I felt that I’d be in the top ten in both races. I made a good start to race one and was fourth at the end of the lap and I guess that surprised a few people for sure. Everything was going good until the bike found a false neutral when I was in the hairpin and down I went. Race over, after just one lap! We changed the gearing for race two and I’m not sure if it was just because of that or something else because I soon began having problems with grip. The rear was spinning a lot and I had a couple of near ones, including one time when I was over the front of the bars! I kept going as best I could and finished 15th, but it was frustrating because today should’ve been so much better.