FIM Superbike World Championship Brno, Czech Republic July 26, 2009 Race One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Max BIAGGI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 20 laps, 40:18.306 2. Carlos CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR), -3.631 seconds 3. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR1000RR), -9.948 4. Shane BYRNE (Ducati 1098R), -12.952 5. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), -14.599 6. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098R), -19.359 7. Leon HASLAM (Honda CBR1000RR), -19.680 8. Noriyuki HAGA (Ducati 1098 F09), -20.731 9. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Honda CBR1000RR), -21.923 10. Makoto TAMADA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -27.807 11. Fonsi NIETO (Ducati 1098R), -35.263 12. Broc PARKES (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -36.535 13. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR), -38.586 14. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -40.061 15. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Honda CBR1000RR), -40.280 16. Luca SCASSA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -40.641 17. David SALOM (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -70.529 18. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R1), -74.874, ran off track 19. Roland RESCH (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -102.979 20. Milos CIHAK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -103.111 21. Tom SYKES (Yamaha YZF-R1), -1 lap, DNF, retired/mechanical 22. Alessandro POLITA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -6 laps, DNF, crash 23. John HOPKINS (Honda CBR1000RR), -10 laps, DNF, crash 24. Shinya NAKANO (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), -12 laps, DNF, retired 25. Ben SPIES (Yamaha YZF-R1), -16 laps, DNF, crash 26. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098 F09), -16 laps, DNF, crash 27. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 1098R), -18 laps, DNF, crash 28. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), -20 laps, DNF, crash More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: SBK, RACE 1: BIAGGI AND THE RSV4 ATOP THE HIGHEST STEP OF THE PODIUM The very first victory in 2009 to combine the names of Max Biaggi and Aprilia has arrived from the historic and prestigious Brno circuit, home to the Czech round of the Superbike world Championships. The Roman driver secured his ninth victory on this track which saw him triumphant during a period from 1994 to 1996 with the RSW 250cc and which then led to three world championship titles. Max Biaggi, started off well, right behind a phenomenal Corser who took off like a rocket from the second row. The course of the race changed during the third lap, with Spies taking the lead followed by the Roman on his RSV4 and Fabrizio’s Ducati. The three stepped up the pace, leaving their competitors behind. But an episode that would change the entire race took place during the fifth lap. Fabrizio, in second position, attempted to pass Spies on the inside, but about halfway through the turn he lost control of his front wheel, taking the blameless American down with him. At that point, Biaggi had the track ahead all to himself and began to push the pace, given that Checa was less than a second behind him. Max managed to gain a few tenths of a second per lap over the Spaniard and his Honda. Just five laps from the finish, with a two-second difference by then, Biaggi lost Checa who crossed the finish line with a time difference of 3:631, ahead of his teammate Rea, who came in third, 9:948 behind Biaggi. Today Max Biaggi secured his fourth SBK victory, bringing Aprilia back to the top of the podium for the ninth time in the world championships for production derived bikes, a category from which the company had been absent since 2001 when Regis Laconi won Race 2 at Imola with the then two-cylinder RSV1000. It was an unlucky Race 1 for Shinya Nakano who, starting off from fifteenth position, managed to reach ninth place but was then forced to withdraw due to an electrical problem. “It’s fantastic,” said Biaggi. “I still can’t believe it, I’m feeling some indescribable emotions. The last few laps were a series of flashbacks of my previous eight wins here at Brno. It was a very, very difficult race. Once I was in the lead, I pushed really hard but I couldn’t break away from Checa and Rea who were really quite competitive. I’m sorry about the accident that Fabrizio caused, but that’s the type of thing that can happen in a race. I want to thank my entire team and Aprilia for this victory, especially Gigi Dall’Igna who is a bit like the father of the RSV4 and who unfortunately couldn’t be here in Brno this time. I’m very proud to have been the first to win with this new generation motorcycle, just like in ’94 with the 250cc when we won the first championship title together.”