FIM Superbike World Championship Nurburgring, Germany September 6, 2009 Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Jonathan Rea (Hon CBR1000RR), 20 laps, 39:01.561 2. Ben Spies (Yam YZF-R1), -0.786 second 3. Carlos Checa (Hon CBR1000RR), -4.993 seconds 4. Max Biaggi (Apr RSV4 Factory), -8.191 5. Leon Haslam (Hon CBR1000RR), -10.907 6. Troy Corser (BMW S1000 RR), -17.152 7. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hon CBR1000RR), -19.473 8. Tom Sykes (Yam YZF-R1), -19.721 9. Michael Fabrizio (Duc 1098F09), -22.981 10. Yukio Kagayama (Suz GSX-R1000), -24.161 11. Jakub Smrz (Duc 1098R), -29.367 12. Fonsi Nieto (Duc 1098R), -30.007 13. Broc Parkes (Kaw ZX-10R), -37.281 14. Luca Scassa (Kaw ZX-10R), -47.883 15. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Hon CBR1000RR), -49.549 16. Matteo Baiocco (Duc 1098R), -49.635 17. David Salom (Kaw ZX-10R), -79.554 18. David Checa (Yam YZF-R1), -82.329 19. Richard Cooper (BMW S1000 RR), DNF 20. Karl Muggeridge (Suz GSX-R1000), DNF 21. Shane Byrne (Duc 1098R), DNF 22. Noriyuki Haga (Duc 1098R), DNF 23. Matthieu Lagrive (Hon CBR1000RR), DNF 24. Shinya Nakano (Apr RSV4 Factory), DNF More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: In today’s 11th round World Superbike championship races at Nurburgring in Germany Jonathan Rea won the second race after placing fourth in the first outing. It was his and the team’s second World Superbike victory of the season and his fifth podium finish. His Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Carlos Checa, also enjoyed a successful day with two third place finishes – the first behind new championship leader, Ben Spies, who was second in race two. Rea’s first race was affected by technical difficulties after it was red flagged on the second lap. His CBR1000RR Fireblade had not been giving him the correct level of engine braking so he swapped to his number two machine for the restart. In the second encounter, the 22-year-old Northern Irishman had to fight through to the lead on lap four after a sluggish start. Japan’s Noriyuki Haga fought back and the pair appeared to touch on the exit the first corner, the Ducati rider crashing out. Rea went on to hold off a late challenge from Spies and was even able to break the Nurburgring lap record on his final lap. Checa meanwhile had to force his way past his team-mate in the opening 20-lapper after starting from eighth on the grid. The Spaniard also put moves on Fabrizio, Biaggi and Corser to grab his third podium of the season. A delighted Checa enjoyed a better start to race two and even led briefly on lap three before settling for third behind Rea and Spies. Jonathan Rea 4th and 1st Apart from the issues with my number one bike in the first part of race one, I had a real problem with turn three and messed up the race. I was a bit disappointed with fourth and was really motivated to ride better in race two. The guys sat me down in between races and gave me an instruction manual on how to win. We changed nothing on the bike and I tried to ride my own race and mind my own business. I got a really bad start and had to get a bit aggressive on people in turn one. Haga ran quite wide and I went on the inside and, although I didn’t see him I felt a big bang and only found out he crashed after the race. I’m sorry for that but don’t think it was my fault and I wouldn’t blame him. I gave it all I could in the race and the package was very strong today so I can’t thank the team enough. I knew I had to make no mistakes on the last lap because Ben was so close, so breaking the lap record then was great. But it’s really a testament to how strong the bike is now and hopefully we can take this momentum on to the next race. Carlos Checa 3rd and 3rd We knew it would be tough going into turn one and in the first race I just tried to catch the top guys. I got up to Johnny and had a good fight with him but right up to the last turn I didn’t know what would happen. I made a really great start to race two I couldn’t believe it. Got into another battle with Haga early on but I could see Johnny was strong when he passed me. I tried to stay with Ben Spies and lost a few meters in the middle of the race but it was very good to keep third for me and for the team. It’s been a really satisfying weekend. Ronald ten Kate team manager All in all, we’ve had some good results this weekend. Jonathan had some problems to resolve after the race but, to his credit, he solved them himself we didn’t change anything on the bike. Going back to his number one machine for race two would have helped and our congratulations to him on the win. Also to the whole staff who have worked so hard over the last couple of weeks to keep us where we are. Jonathan’s win in race two maybe overshadowed Carlos’s results, but fair play to him for two brilliant podiums. He has worked and ridden really well this weekend and we’ll now try to improve the bike even more for Imola. More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: Ryuichi Kiyonari took 14th and seventh place finishes in today’s two races of the 11th-round World Superbike championship race at Nurburgring in Germany. The races were won by America’s Ben Spies and Kiyonari’s Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Jonathan Rea, as the Japanese rider continues his adaptation to new suspension components which he has been using since the last round at Brno in the Czech Republic. After qualifying in 18th place yesterday, Kiyonari had sluggish starts to both races, but continued improvements to his Ohlins suspension allowed him to climb several places to seventh in race two Ryuichi Kiyonari 14th and 7th Race two was a big improvement for me and I felt more comfortable on the bike. It had a better feeling and balance and I was able to push a little harder in the second race and pass quite a few riders. Of course, there is still a lot of work to do but I am looking forward to see how much more we can improve in the final three races of the season. Ronald ten Kate team manager Unfortunately, Kiyonari-san was unable to make very much progress in the first race, even though we made some improvements to the bike overnight. The changes seemed to work better in race two and Kiyo was able to improve his lap time as well as passing some other riders for a solid top ten finish. We will continue working as a team to find some more improvements when we reach Imola, which is a circuit Kiyonari knows after our test there earlier in the summer. More, from a press release issued by Team Sterilgarda: Team Sterilgarda BRC Racing leaves the German track with six points as Shane Byrne took tenth place in race 1 after a first lap in thirteenth. A few laps later, he managed to overtake both Suzuki riders Muggeridge and Kagayama and followed Fonsi Nieto very closely passing him in lap 8. He then built a consistent gap between him and the riders behind him to finish tenth. This result won him six points and ninth place in the standings which he is now sharing with Smrz. In race 2 Shakey, crashed without consequences after nine laps while he was in thirteenth place. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 10th, retired: “This is not a very favourable track for Ducati but I was still hoping to get some more points in race 2 as well. In race 1 I had little grip on the back wheel and so we put soft tyres on but it seems that wasn’t a very good decision. Unfortunately, I only had two sessions to learn the track because on Friday it was raining and sometimes these things can happen setupwise”. More, from a press release issued by Infront Motorsports: Spies takes championship lead, Haga crashes in race 2 The German Round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship offered a number of thrills and spills at the Nurburgring as Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) moved into the lead of the championship for the first time this year. In front of 42,000 spectators the Yamaha man took the race 1 win from Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), and his second place in race 2, in addition to a turn 1 crash for Haga, allowed him to open up an 18-point gap at the top of the table. Britain’s Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) took his second win of the season with a commandeering performance in race 2. Race 1 Spies notched up his 12th win of the season at the end of a nail-biting scrap with his championship rival Haga, reducing the gap at the top of the table to just two points. The Japanese rider powered away to the best possible start, but Spies managed to recover by the mid-point, when he took over at the front. With a couple of laps to go before the chequered flag, Haga made a slight error and the Texan was able to cut loose to take the win. Third place went to Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who held off his team-mate Jonathan Rea for the final podium slot. There was another terrific battle for fifth between Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing), Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox), who finished in that order. Troy Corser scored a positive eighth place for BMW, with the Australian running in fourth for much of the race before dropping away in the final stages. Stand-in rider Karl Muggeridge brought the first Suzuki Alstare BRUX machine home in 12th, but both Kawasaki riders were forced into retirement. Makoto Tamada was involved in an incident shortly after the start together with John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda), and they were both taken to Adenau hospital for checks for slight concussion. Ben Spies: “It was a good race, I didn’t get a great start and I lost a little bit of time to get past Rea, while Nori got away a little bit and I really had to move to catch him. When I got Nori we passed and re-passed. It was tough because he was extremely fast in the first section. The bike started moving around quite a bit and then with three laps to go it was time to put the hammers down and go.” Noriyuki Haga: “I’m not so happy, I wanted to win and I felt sure I could win that race. I tried to overtake Ben everywhere but in some parts he was quicker than me and in some parts my bike was quicker than his, but I couldn’t get past him, he was a little faster than me so I had to settle for second place. ” Carlos Checa: “Yesterday qualifying wasn’t so good but we knew we had a good pace and a good feeling with the bike. I didn’t feel so well this weekend either. My start wasn’t good, but we had the pace during the race. And starting from behind it was fun, a good fight until the end with Johnny. So it’s quite positive and I’m very happy.” Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 39’04.818 (157,737 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 3.850; 3. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 6.990; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 7.109; 5. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 12.825; 6. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 13.243; 7. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 14.223; 8. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 14.382; 9. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 17.206; 10. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 26.547; 11. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 27.388; 12. Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 30.968; 13. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 31.069; 14. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 31.188; 15. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 40.165; 16. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 54.897 Race 2 The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team returned to the top of the podium in the second encounter, thanks to a superb race by Jonathan Rea, who scored his second season win after the one at Misano. The British youngster finished just ahead of Spies, who thanks to Haga’s turn 1 crash when he made contact with Rea, is now the points leader. 18 points lie between the two, with the title battle wide-open. Third place again went to Checa, ahead of Biaggi, who had another convincing run, this time to fourth, and Haslam in fifth. Corser was again one of the protagonists, with a sixth place finish for BMW. It wasn’t a particularly good day for Fabrizio, who added a ninth place in race 2 to his seventh earlier on, the Italian finishing behind Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda) and Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike). The final top-10 position went to Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare BRUX), while Kawasaki could only manage three points overall in the German race weekend, thanks to a thirteenth place in the second race by Broc Parkes. Jonathan Rea: “I tried to ride my own race and mind my own business. I got a really bad start and had to get a bit aggressive with people in turn 1 because I had to regroup and come from a long way back. I had to put moves down quick, because I really messed up race 1 which was all my fault. We changed nothing in between, my guys sat me down and explained exactly what I had to do to win. I gave it all today, the package was really strong.” Ben Spies: “The track was a lot cooler and it was definitely much quicker. I didn’t get off the line good and a bunch of people came round me in turn 1 and I lost almost two seconds to the lead. I came up to the front but by the time I got there I just didn’t quite have the rear grip to get out of the corners in the last five laps. Johnny was not making any mistakes so hats off to him for winning. It wasn’t my race, but we’ve got the championship lead now.” Carlos Checa: “I did such a really great start I couldn’t believe it! Then I had a fight with Haga and Johnny passed me, he was quite strong. I tried to follow him until the end when I lost some metres. Ben also had some good pace and I saw that it was impossible to keep his pace but anyway third place is a good result for me and the team.” Results: 1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 39’01.561 (157,956 kph); 2. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 0.786; 3. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 4.993; 4. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 8.191; 5. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 10.907; 6. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 17.152; 7. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 19.473; 8. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 19.721; 9. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 22.981; 10. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 24.161; 11. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 29.367; 12. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 30.007; 13. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 37.281; 14. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 47.883; 15. Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 49.549; 16. Baiocco M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 49.635 Points (after 11 of 14 rounds): 1. Spies 364; 2. Haga 336; 3. Fabrizio 289; 4. Rea 244; 5. Biaggi 224; 6. Haslam 201; 7. Checa 177; 8. Sykes 165; 9. Byrne 140; 10. Smrz 140. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 439; 2. Yamaha 407; 3. Honda 347; 4. Aprilia 231; 5. Suzuki 143; 6. BMW 105; 7. Kawasaki 56 World Supersport Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) scored another undisputed win in the 11th round of the championship at the Nurburgring. The points leader appeared to have an extra gear over his rivals right from the start of the weekend and showed it during the race when he immediately pulled away at the start and went on to take the chequered flag by 10 seconds. The next men to finish were Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda)and Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com), who engaged in a terrific scrap for the runner-up slot. Thanks to his second place Laverty keeps Crutchlow’s lead down to 22 points with three rounds remaining. Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Czech Honda) put in a good run to fourth place, the Italian holding off the attacks from Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport). A bad start ruined the race of Garry McCoy (Triumph ParkinGo), but the Australian managed to finish eighth at the flag, while Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) looked as though he might challenge Crutchlow in the early laps but then crashed out and later retired. Results: 1.Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 37’56.481 (154,348 kph); 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 10.109; 3. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 10.250; 4. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 31.980; 5. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 34.575; 6. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 34.724; 7. Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 36.352; 8. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 36.391. Points (after 11 of 14 rounds): 1. Crutchlow 210; 2. Laverty 188; 3. Lascorz 138; 4. Sofuoglu 128; 5. Foret 99; 6. West 96; 7. Pitt 94; 8. Aitchison 71; 9. McCoy 71; 10. Roccoli 62. Manufacturers: 1. Yamaha 235; 2. Honda 231; 3. Kawasaki 149; 4. Triumph 85; 5. Suzuki 30 Superstock 1000 Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) looks to be well on the way to winning this year’s Superstock 1000 FIM Cup title after the Belgian youngster scored a lights to flag victory, his third in a row. Simeon now has a 40-point advantage over his closest rival Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare BRUX), who could only finish fifth. The runner-up slot went to Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda), who put together an incredible recovery from 16th position on the grid. Another positive podium place went to Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini), while Davide Giugliano (Suzuki Celani) prevailed in a quartet of battling Italians, Corti finishing ahead of Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox) and Andrea Antonelli (Yamaha Trasimeno). Results: 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 22’13.426 (152,558 kph); 2. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 2.763; 3. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 5.649; 4. Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 6.620; 5. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 7.085; 6. Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 7.353; 7. Antonelli A. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 12.097; 8. Jezek O. (CZE) Honda CBR1000RR 12.338 Points (after 7 of 10 rounds): 1. Simeon 155; 2. Corti 115; 3. Berger 102; 4. Fores 100; 5. Barrier 67; 6. Beretta 66; 7. Jezek 56; 8. Giugliano 38; 9. Baz 35; 10. Savary 30. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 155; 2. Honda 128: 3. Suzuki 117; 4. Kawasaki 100; 5. Yamaha 84; 6. MV Agusta 21; 7. Aprilia 12 Superstock 600 Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha) scored his second win in a row in the Superstock 600 class, and now becomes the leading rival for the European title to Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno). The Italian limited the damage with the runner-up slot, but is now only 8 points ahead of the Belgian with three rounds remaining. Third place went to Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno), who took the flag ahead of Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini), who almost got onto the podium. Britain’s Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) could only finish sixth and is now 24 points down on Petrucci, while Frenchman Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha) crashed out of the race. Results: 1. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 18’53.030 (146,897 kph); 2. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1.096; 3. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1.383; 4. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1.512; 5. Karlsen F. (NOR) Yamaha YZF R6 1.794; 6. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 7.404; 7. Guittet B. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 10.811; 8. Kerschbaumer S. (AUT) Yamaha YZF R6 15.917 Points (after 7 of 10 rounds): 1. Petrucci 122; 2. Lonbois 114; 3. Rea 98: 4. Bussolotti 96; 5. Guarnoni 83; 6. La Marra 68; 7. Kerschbaumer 59; 8. Guittet 56; 9. Litjens 38; 10. Chmielewski 35 More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: SBK, RACE 2: BIAGGI FINISHES AT THE FOOT OF THE PODIUM The sky remains cloudy over the Nurburgring and the temperatures low, but fortunately there is no rain to ruin Race 2 of the German Superbike round. Jonathan Rea on the Honda Ten Kate wins with 0″786 over Spies’ Yamaha in a race run at an impressive pace. Spies soars to the head of the world classifications with an 18 point advantage over Haga and 4″993 over his team mate, Carlos Checa. Haga starts off well and tries to spread the gap straight away but Rea, Checa, Corse and Spies stay in his wake, distancing all of the other riders. Ducati’s Japanese rider stays in control until the fourth lap when he goes just a little wide in the first turn and Rea slips inside where some small contact between the two leaves Haga with the worst of it, crashing and forced to withdraw. From this moment on, the Northern Irishman pushes the race to an exasperating pace, improving on the track record several times and with only Spies able to keep up with him. At the halfway point they pull ahead of Checa while in the last lap the American tries to take the lead in order to take advantage of this stroke of luck with Haga in the fight for the world championship, but Rea is unreachable and is first across the finish line for the second time this season. Max Biaggi finishes in fourth place on his RSV4. The Roman rider pays the price of a poor start, his bike rears up repeatedly and he finishes the first lap tenth. From this moment on begins a spectacular comeback with times which would have allowed him to battle for the podium: in the second lap he overtakes Kagayama, Sykes in the fourth, and it’s Corser’s turn in the seventh. At the halfway point he passes Fabrizio’s Ducati, moving into fifth. In the thirteenth lap he has Haslam, who has more than two seconds advantage, in his sights, but after only four laps he is in his wake. In the eighteenth lap Max overtakes Haslam leaving him behind, but Checa is too far in front and the two riders make the same times, so he will cross the finish line at the foot of the podium. Strong neck pains prevented Nakano from participating in the second race. The Japanese rider had felt these muscular problems this morning which kept him from making some movements and in spite of the extensive care of the Mobile Clinic, the pain did not show signs of diminishing. After having clenched his teeth in Race 1, Shinya decided not to line up for the start of the second match and he will leave for Japan tomorrow to have further medical tests done. “I am pretty satisfied – Biaggi stated – even though the conditions of these past few days were pretty difficult. Having ridden only one day on the dry track and without having any data available, our work was quite complicated, so we optimised the material we had at our disposal based on our experience in the previous races and in the end it was a good weekend. I still feel the usual vibrations in the turns which I’m still unable to resolve; I hope they decrease in the next races because they really limit us a lot. Race 2 went much better – a shame about the start – but we already understand where the problem came from and the pace was good. We will need more time to draw out the best in ourselves, hopefully already by Imola even though the type of circuit is not very favourable to our characteristics”. More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: The 11th round of the World Superbike Championship got off to a messy start when a pile up of riders, including Stiggy Racing Honda’s John Hopkins, caused a red flag on the first lap of the first Superbike race at the Nurburgring in Germany today. John Hopkins got hit from behind going into the second turn and took Broc Parkes down with him to a premature end of their first race. Hopkins was taken to hospital for further examination but was declared free of any serious injuries. In the re-started race Leon Haslam was pushed wide by fellow Honda rider Jonathan Rea in the first corner but kept it together and came through the first lap in eight place. He worked his way past Michel Fabrizio and Troy Corser before taking the fifth place from Max Biaggi. The Italian regained his position through a counter attack on the ultimate lap and pushed Leon Haslam to a sixth place at the flag. Leon Haslam got off the line well in the second race and was save in second place. Ben Spies moved up to third place and put the pressure on Haslam which forced him to run through the gravel. The chatter issues with the front end of his machine worsened and impeded his pace. Haslam was put in fourth place while Spies and Checa filled in the number two and three slots. Leon lost his fourth place on the ultimate lap to Max Biaggi and finished the second German Superbike race in fifth place. Jonathan Rea took the win in the second race, followed by new series leader Ben Spies in second and Carlos Checa in third place. Leon Haslam – Race 1 – 6th, Race 2 – 5th: 1C;I am a bit disappointed with the result of my second race. I got the started I wanted for the race, and I had a good battle with Johnny. I felt comfortable riding behind him but Johnny kept pulling a bit on the straights and I thought I could keep it up. I suffered some a bit of front end chatter but when Spies passed me and put me onto the gravel the chattering seemed to have gotten worse. I made a few mistakes when I went back on to the track and dropped back a second from the pace I set before. I feel it could have been a win and easily a second place, but that is racing.” John Hopkins – Race 1 – DNF, Race 2 – DNS: 1C;My day started off well and my crew found a good set-up for the machine in the warm-up session and I managed to improve my pace. I was confident going into the race. I knew the start would be tough and I had to be somewhere tactical to get myself into the top 10 by the end of the first lap. I ran a bit wide coming out of turn one and then got hit from behind in the second turn and high-sided into Broc Parkes. I was unconscious for 10 minutes before waking up in the ambulance. A bike ran over my chest, but apart from that I have no serious injuries. I just hope my luck will turn around soon.” Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager: “John has experienced a lot of bad luck this season and this weekend unfortunately is no exception. We hope it will soon turn around for him. He had not had the change to show what he is capable of. We had some issues with the electronics of his machine and he has only had a limited amount of laps in the practice sessions. Fortunately he is not injured after the crash. Leon has done a great job again taking a fifth and sixth place. He could have finished on the podium in the second race, but lost his momentum after running off the track. I am confident he could have been on the podium here. We are still sixth in the championship so all in all we should be confident with these results.” More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: SPIES TAKES WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD First and Second in Germany for the Yamaha Ace Nürburg, Germany (Sept. 6, 2009) You might say it was a red-letter weekend for Ben Spies. The Texan having re-upped with Yamaha for two more years, he then hit the Nurburgring in Germany and came away with the lead in the World Superbike Championship. Overcoming a slow start early in the weekend Ben Spies charged back to win the first leg of the German round of the World Superbike Championship in a classic battle with rival Nori Haga. In the second leg Spies worked his way through to the front pack after a poor start and ended the day with second to Jonathan Rea. Spies’ 1-2 finishes, combined with a crash by Haga in the second race, means that Spies has taken an 18-point lead (364-346) in the championship standings. Race one at the world-renowned Nurburgring was an instant classic. After a slew of pole positions and front row starts, Spies was starting from the second row for the first time this season. He immediately put his Yamaha R1 Superbike into third on the first lap and was looking for more. On lap five Spies made his pass on Rea and moved into second and immediately began chipping away at Haga’s lead. Haga matched Spies’ pace making it tough for the American to make inroads on his Japanese rival. On lap 11 of 20 Spies tucked into Haga’s draft and out-braked him going into the Esses to take over the lead. Haga kept the pressure on and the duo ran wheel to wheel until with two laps to go Spies made a strong surge to pull away and win by 3.85 seconds. “I got caught up in a tough battle with Rea,” Spies explained of the early part of race one. “Then I used up my tires a bit reeling in Nori. He was tough in the first section of the track and that made it hard for me to get by and once I did I wasn’t able to shake him. I did my best on the other sections of the track to get a gap and fortunately I was able to click off some really good lap times to finish off the race.” The final lap of the race was the fastest of the day for Spies. The victory was his 12th of the season, doubling the win tally of Haga and moving Spies to within two points of the series lead. The second race did not get off to a good start for Spies. “I didn’t get off the line well and then a bunch of guys came together in the first turn,” Spies explained. “Once everything settled I was able to start clicking in some good laps. The difference in the second race was that the track was cooler and everyone was turning in quick laps. Once I came to the front I found I didn’t quite have the rear grip that I needed to make a move on Jonathan. He was riding strong and I congratulate him on a great ride and win.” Spies takes over the championship lead, this after having fallen to third, 88 points out of first just five rounds ago in South Africa. “There were some pretty tough moments earlier in the season when I just couldn’t seem to string together good races,” Spies said. “I’m happy that my team has worked hard and helped me get back in a good position to fight for the championship. It’s great to have the series lead, but as we’ve seen this championship has a lot of ups and downs so I’m not taking anything for granted. It’s way too early to think about anything but doing what we’ve been doing all season. I’m going to the next round in Imola with the goal of winning.” The last time an American led the World Superbike Championship was in 2002 when Colin Edwards won the title. In the U.S. both legs of World Superbike from Germany will be shown back to back in primetime tonight (Sunday, Sept. 6) starting at 8:00 pm Eastern on SPEED. More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsports: PARKES SALVAGES POINTS IN GERMANY Round eleven of the Hannspree World Superbike Championship proved to be one to forget for the Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team as they came away from the Nurburgring in Germany with just three points after a difficult weekend. With Japanese rider Makoto Tamada returning after injury, and Australian Broc Parkes buoyed after a superb performance at the Brands Hatch BSB round where the team was guesting last month, the Paul Bird Motorsport Team was hoping to continue where they left off but it wasn’t to be. Friday’s wet practice hindered their progress but with dryer conditions on Saturday, both riders easily made it into the top twenty for Superpole 1 and maintained good speed into Superpole 2. But any hopes of a good result were scuppered on the very first corner of the opening race when the Stiggy Honda of John Hopkins skittled the pack causing both Tamada and Parkes to crash out as the race was red-flagged. The luckless Tamada suffered concussion in the incident and couldn’t make the restart as he was being checked out in the medical centre whereas Parkes was uninjured and took to his spare www.supercasino.com, Vent-Axia, Kick Energy and Henleys-backed Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R for the restart, but crashed out on lap two. With Tamada being ruled out of the second race due to the slight head injury, it was down to Parkes to uphold honour and he did his best as he battled for the lower leaderboard positions, eventually bringing the machine home in 13th place at the end of the 20-lap race. Broc Parkes: “The weekend didn’t go my way at all and I’m really disappointed. I really struggled in the wet conditions on Friday but come Saturday we found a decent setting in the dry and I was happy to be in Superpole one and two but I would have liked to have started a little further up the grid but wasn’t able to get in a final fast lap. The races didn’t go our way at all when in race one I was knocked off by another rider on turn one. I was able to restart on my second bike but I wasn’t comfortable with the settings and lost the front after running wide early on in the restarted race. In race two, I wanted to get some points in and to make up for race one but having had three crashes over the weekend, it meant that my bike set-up wasn’t perfect and I really struggled with rear grip and I wasn’t able to improve on my starting position. I want to put this weekend behind me and to focus on a good result in Imola.” Makoto Tamada: “I was happy with the bike set-up and my qualifying position this weekend but had some very bad luck once again which meant I was not able to finish a race. I had a good feeling on the bike with the swing arm improvements and the braking stability was also much better. In race one I was ran into on turn one by someone and was hit again from behind by another rider which put me out of the race. I didn’t suffer any serious injuries but knocked my head a little. I was taken to hospital for precaution and further tests and was hoping that I could make a full restart for race two but this wasn’t to be despite me feeling OK. I was declared unfit by the doctor so had to watch the race from the garage which was really disappointing for me and the team as they worked really hard to repair my bikes in time for race two. All I can say is that I’m looking forward to some better luck for the Imola race in a few weeks time.” Paul Bird, Team Owner: “Once again it’s been an up-and-down weekend for the team. We seem to show really good potential in practice and qualifying but can’t seem to turn this into decent results in the races which is frustrating for all. Both riders suffered severe bad luck in race one with both being taken out of the race which obviously set us back with the set-up for Broc in race two. I was disappointed for Makoto not to complete a race as he was determined to start race two and showed good pace all weekend but this was out of our hands due to medical reasons. Lets hope that we can show the bike’s potential at the Imola race.” Paul Risbridger, Team Manager: “It’s been another challenging weekend for the team. We started off with a very disappointing pace in the wet weather on Friday but come Saturday and qualifying, we felt the bike was working well and we were able to put in a solid performance for Superpole. Unfortunately Sunday didn’t go our way with Makoto being ruled out to race by medics after his race one incident and Broc having two crashes in race one. Although Broc was able to restart, we never really recovered our pace in the second race. It was good to get some points but a disappointing weekend for the team.” The next round of the Hannspree World Superbike Championship takes place at Imola in Italy on September 25/27. More, from a press release issued by Ducati: RACE 1 PODIUM IS FOLLOWED BY DNF FOR NORIYUKI HAGA (DUCATI XEROX) AT THE NURBURGRING Nürburgring (Germany) Sunday 6th September: an afternoon of highs and lows for Noriyuki Haga, Michel Fabrizio and the Ducati Xerox squad today at the Nurburgring. Having stepped up to the podium in Race, Noriyuki was the victim of a Race 2 incident which saw him walk away unhurt but with a DNF result. Difficulties for Michel too, who for various reasons was unable to obtain the results he had hoped for today. In Race 1, an all-out duel ensued between Noriyuki Haga on his Ducati 1198 and Ben Spies on the Yamaha. After an accident and subsequent red flag on lap one, the race was restarted and it was Haga who got away quickest, ahead of Rea and Spies. In the first stages Noriyuki was able to build up a gap while Rea and Spies fought it out behind him, but after ten laps Spies had caught up, managing to get past the Japanese rider. The second half of the race was characterized by the fight between the two leaders, both riding on the limit, with Noriyuki taking a new lap record on the 15th lap. Unfortunately, and despite his best efforts, Haga was unable to pass Ben and closed the first race in second position. Michel also got away quickly but was caught up in a chasing group made up of Biaggi, Checa and later Corser and Haslam. Despite maintaining a good pace for the entire 20-lap race, he was able to pass only Corser in the final phase, thus finishing the race in seventh. In Race 2 the Ducati Xerox riders were far from lucky. Haga immediately took the lead but knoew that Honda riders Checa and Rea were both hot on his heels. Checa got past him on the third lap but when Rea tried to do the same thing on the very next lap, he made contact with the Japanese rider at the end of the straight, causing Nori to fall and signifying the end of his race. For Michel the race panned out in a similar way to the first; despite a good start, technical problems prevented him from maintaining his position, and having moved up as far as fifth during the race, the Italian rider eventually finished ninth. Today’s results mean that Noriyuki loses the championship lead for the first time this season; he is now 18 points behind Spies, while Michel remains in third place with 289 points. Ducati is still at the top of the manufacturers leader board with 439 points while Yamaha chases with 407. Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 2nd, Race 2 DNF) “Ben got past me after ten laps and from that point on I did all I could to push everywhere so as to stay with him. I basically tried to overtake him everywhere and in some places I came close but in the end I had to settle for second. I am not so happy as I really thought I could win but Ben has a very strong bike here today. Then, before the second race, we made a small suspension modification and I had a better feeling with the rear as the race got underway; I think that would have been of benefit if I had reached the final stages of the race, but unfortunately, just I started to push to catch Checa, Rea came up fast on the straight and hit me. There was nothing I could do and I couldn’t restart the bike. I’m angry as it is the second time this has happened; I guess the only consolation is that I’m not hurt.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: REA SCOOPS A WIN AND CHECA TWO PODIUMS Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) took his second win of the season after holding off new championship leader Ben Spies in the second race of the day at the Nürburgring. Rea set a new lap record of 1’56.234 on the very last lap to ensure that Spies stayed behind him, and in doing so he consolidated his fourth place in the championship, moving to within 45 points of third. Rea’s team-mate Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) secured two third places today in what was a positive meeting for the Ten Kate team in Superbike, even if Rea was disappointed with fourth in race one after qualifying second in Superpole. Checa was on row two but made a great start in the second 20-lap race of the day. In the first race Checa and Rea had a long fight in the final laps, with Checa finally winning the private battle to take third place. In race one Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR) battled hard with Max Biaggi and Michel Fabrizio after Checa had pulled his way forward, and Leon secured sixth place. In race two Haslam was unlucky to be run off track and then suffer some minor technical issues that caused him to drop from a likely second to an eventual fifth. The opening race was red flagged on the first lap after a collision on the entry to turn two saw John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR), Makoto Tamada and Broc Parkes all crash, with Hopkins and Tamada taken to hospital with symptoms of concussion. The restarted first race went the full 20-laps, and was won by Ben Spies, from Noriyuki Haga. Hopkins came through tests in hospital OK, but did not race in the second outing. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) was a disappointed 14th in race one, but improved greatly in the second race by taking seventh, after qualifying only 18th. Sixteen place qualifier Matthieu Lagrive (Honda Althea CBR1000RR) scored another strong finish with 11th place in race one, but exited with a technical problem on lap two of race two. In the overall points standings, Spies has 364, Noriyuki Haga (who crashed out of race two after a tangle with Rea) has 346, Michel Fabrizio has 289 and Rea has 244. Haslam is sixth, on 201 points, Checa seventh on 177. WSS RACE Laverty Second And Still In Contention Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) scored second place in the 19-lap Nürburgring race after fending off some late pressure from Joan Lascorz. The race was won by championship leader Cal Crutchlow, who now has a 22-point advantage over Laverty, with three rounds to go. Laverty had a busy qualifying with the first day proving to be wet and all the set-up for the dry race completed on Saturday and during this morning’s warm-up session. The race itself remained dry, despite the riders’ visors feeling occasional smatterings of rain. The track conditions allowed Laverty to make the most of his third place qualifying position and push hard from the early laps. Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) was on course for a second place finish, repeating his qualifying performance, until he fell on lap six, remounting to eventually retire on lap 13. In no scoring Sofuoglu dropped to fourth in the overall rankings, one place behind Lascorz. Mark Aitchison (Althea Honda CBR600RR) finished the race sixth after a tough qualifying session in 14th, heading up 2008 champion Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR). Pitt had qualified tenth on the grid and could not get away in the leading group. Robbin Harms (Veidec Racing CBR600RR) was both happy and relieved at the end of the race. Following six barren races the Dane returned to points scoring form in Germany. Harms made a good start and ran on the tail of the lead group for the opening seven laps before losing contact to end the race in a solid ninth place at the flag. Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) suffered throughout the race, as he had done in practice, fighting off ‘flu symptoms. His early aggression and pace could not be maintained all the way to the flag, and he finished 11th. Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR) finished two places behind his team-mate Gianluca Vizziello (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR), who was 13th. West repeated his qualifying performance with his 15th place, but Vizziello made up 11 places from 24th grid position. WSB RIDER COMMENTS Jonathan Rea: “I rode a poor race one and during the gap to race two I was really quiet, trying to think about it, and talking with my team about how to make it right. Ben was really strong in the first sector but I had a crash there on Friday that dented my confidence a bit. I concentrated on how to change my approach to the first few corners. I knew I had to have a mistake-free, but still very fast, last lap at the end, and that’s exactly what I did. We came here with some advances in our electronics, so I can’t thank my team enough for working hard. It is not just me on the bike, it is a whole team effort.” Leon Haslam: “Spies came up the inside of me into the chicane in race two, and I was OK for the speed I was going in at. But Ben suddenly lifted up and that lifted me up, and that put me straight across the gravel. That was frustrating, but after lap seven or eight the chatter from the back end got worse. Earlier, I felt I was comfortable with Johnny in the corners even if he was gapping me on the straights, so it was frustrating, particularly as it was for a possible win. We went back to basic setting this weekend and I concentrated on my riding and I was back in there again.” Ryuichi Kiyonari: “Race two was a big improvement for me and I felt more comfortable on the bike. It had a better feeling and balance and I was able to push a little harder in the second race and pass quite a few riders. Of course, there is still a lot of work to do but I am looking forward to see how much more we can improve in the final three races of the season.” Carlos Checa: “I am satisfied to have been fast, fighting at the front, and to have taken two podiums. I stayed with the leaders in race two until near the end but it was just the extreme pace of Johnny at the end that told. But it was a good result for our team. Now we have put everything with the suspension and the balance of the bike together, that was the most important thing, and the chattering we had is now gone, so I can ride more fluidly. That is why I can take these podium positions.” John Hopkins: “My day started off well and my crew found a good set-up for the machine in the warm-up session and I managed to improve my pace. I was confident going into the race. I knew the start would be tough and I had to be somewhere tactical to get myself into the top ten by the end of the first lap. I ran a bit wide coming out of turn one and then got hit from behind in the second turn and high-sided into Broc Parkes. I was unconscious for 10 minutes before waking up in the ambulance. A bike ran over my chest, but apart from that I have no serious injuries. I just hope my luck will turn around soon.” Matthieu Lagrive: “I’m pretty happy about the results obtained in race one. My start was not so good but I found a good pace. The bike was working well, the engine was running very well and I was able to reach eleventh place. I’m satisfied about my final position in race one, considering my poor physical condition as today I had a very high temperature and near the end of the first race I felt very weak. In race two, I started off on a very good start but unfortunately, we had some technical problems which prevented me from achieving some important points for my championship standing.” WSS Rider Comments Eugene Laverty: 2nd. “Cal was very fast today but I can’t be worrying about that; I have to do the best with the package I have got and try to keep fighting. There are three races to go. That wasn’t an easy race today, with Joan Lascorz pushing right to the end. Second place was the best I could do and we are only 22-points behind in the championship table so we still have it all to play for. I am going to keep fighting to beat Cal and at the Imola test we had similar pace, so I’ll be going there and pushing for the win.” Mark Aitchison: 6th. “It was important for me to finish the race today. In the middle of the race I managed to find good rhythm, but in the beginning I found many problems with rear grip and I risked crashing on several occasions while trying to stay with group. After a few laps the feeling was much better and my lap time started to be very consistent. We need to understand why we struggled with the rear grip this weekend, because if a better qualifying time was made I’m sure we could have reached a better result today.” Andrew Pitt: 7th.”I was basically just too cautious when it was wet and lost too much time. I saw a couple of other riders go down and just took it steady for a couple of laps but came back strong at the end, when my lap times were better and I was able to get into a rhythm. We still need to do some work on improving the way the bike turns; I’m just having to wait too long to get on the gas. But we’re going in the right direction and making small steps forward. We’ll have a good base to start with at Imola and know what we have to do.” Robbin Harms: 9th. “I managed a good start and was able to stay with some fast guys in the beginning of the race. After seven laps I had to let them go because we are not at the level yet to keep this pace during the whole race. Important is that after six races without points, I got back my trust and feeling back with the bike and this was a good start of it. After a difficult warm-up session, the result was better than I expected and my team really did a good job this weekend. The bike felt good and also my new engine worked well.” Miguel Praia: 11th. “I am not feeling so good, since I came here I have had a temperature. I was good for the first couple of laps but then I was just not fit enough because of my cold. After two non-finishes this is a good result and I think normally if I am fit I could have fought with the group battling over seventh and eighth, which is a real positive going into the last three races.” Gianluca Vizziello: 13th. “In warm-up my bike was OK, but in the race after six or seven laps my visor started to have condensation so on the straights I had to lift it open each time, so three points even with this was OK.” Anthony West: 15th “I just can’t get comfortable on the bike. I can’t get the feel out of the front or the rear so I can’t push the bike as I want to.” Jesco Günther: 19th. “My start was very good, but in the second lap McCoy touched me, so I had to go wide and lost many places. It cost me some time to fight my way back and with a good pace I came up to 15th position, but then my gear switched back and my bike started to slide. I came on the gravel and lost again some places. I expected more from my home-race and a 19th place is quite disappointing but I my bike felt good and I showed to have the pace.” Arie Vos: 21st. “It was a heavy race for me cause I felt very weak. The cold didn’t get better and I got the flu as well. I took some medicines but also these didn’t make me feel better. The first ten laps went OK, but then I started to lose the power in my body. I even thought about returning to the pit box but then I saw I just had five more laps to go and focused on finishing the race. My team did some good work on the bike this weekend, but we were not able to show it. In Imola I will do everything I can to battle for points again.” Kenan Sofuoglu: DNF. “I am so disappointed because I was in a good position when I crashed. I felt I had to push to stay with Crutchlow, but I just pushed too hard. I lost the footpeg but the rest of the bike was OK and I was able to do some good lap times before the bolt fell off and I had no alternative but to pull in. I’m sorry for the team who worked so hard to give me a good bike this weekend and I will try to make up for it at Imola.” The next rounds of WSB and WSS take place at a revised Imola circuit, Italy, on 27 September. More, from a press release issued by BMW: SUPERB 8TH AND 6TH FOR TROY. DISAPPOINTMENT FOR RICHARD. Although the rains held off at the Nurburgring today, the eleventh round of this year’s Superbike World Championship took place mainly in gloomy conditions. Troy made good starts in both races and took eighth place in race one and then followed that up with a strong sixth in race two. Richard Cooper, standing in for Ruben Xaus, also made good starts but crashed out of both 20-lappers, fortunately without injury. The first race was won by American Ben Spies (Yamaha), with Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) second and Carlos Checa (Honda) third. Haga then led race two, but crashed out of contention after just four laps, leaving Jonathan Rea (Honda) to battle it with out Spies for the spoils of victory. Spies did his utmost, but Rea managed to take the win by seven tenths of a second. Third went to Checa, but Haga’s DNF means Spies now leads the championship by eighteen points. Troy – Race 1: 8th, Race 2: 6th Generally I think this was a good day for us and we were able to hold our ground after Brno. We are now dicing with the top guys and that shows how much we have improved since the start of the season. The bike is easier to ride, more comfortable, more consistent and I’m having fun riding it! Now I can put the laps together without a problem. I got a good start in the first race and was a solid fourth for the first ten laps. Then the rear started spinning a bit when I picked up the throttle and I could not prevent some of the guys getting past me. We made a bit of a change for the second race and I very nearly got the holeshot! It was good to be in contention with the leaders for a while and now I am waiting for the team to make the next step up, so that I can consistently challenge the leaders. But the main thing is that we are still improving. Before the day began, I thought I’d be about the top six or so and I think our results were very good when you consider that there are eight or so factory bikes out there and they’ve all got more experience than us. Richard – Race 1: DNF: Race 2: DNF To say that I am disappointed would be a huge understatement. I’m not known as a crasher, so to have three in one weekend is rather rare for me. I made good starts in both races. I was sixteenth after one lap in race one and seventeenth after the first lap of race two. I felt comfortable on the bike, so it was a bit of a shock to crash in the final chicane after only five laps in race one. Maybe I was just pushing a bit too hard and the front didn’t like it. I managed sixteen laps in the second race before having a very slow speed crash. Once again, I felt settled on the bike and was just concentrating on my racing. I hit a bump at the Dunlop hairpin and the bike just folded and went down. The crash was so slow that I didn’t even make the end of the track! I am bitterly disappointed with how things went today because I am sure that I could finished in the points in both races and that would’ve been a fantastic achievement on my World Superbike debut. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed my time here this weekend and would like to thank the whole team for all their help and support. Everybody has been amazing and I have been made to feel a part of the team, not just a stand-in for another rider. Rainer Baeumel (Team manager – BMW Motorrad Motorsport) Today’s results (for Troy anyway) are more or less what we expected with these engine specs. We made the engines for this weekend for reliability and so a bit of top speed and power was sacrificed. Nonetheless, Troy did a superb job and, by running with the top guys, showed that we can now fight with the big boys OK. I think our bike is maybe a little harder to ride than the other bikes, but we know which direction to take and we will improve the bike for Imola for sure. I feel very sorry for Richard. He’s had to do so much finding a dry set-up in the limited track time and learn the circuit as well. He’s a very easy rider to work with and I am sure he’s going to do well in the future. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY FIGHTS WITH THE ‘RING LEADERS Troy finished eighth in the first race today and then a strong sixth in the second to show that the BMW S 1000 RR’s recent improvement is no flash in the pan. But, more importantly maybe, was the fact that Troy was able to fight with the front runners in both 20-lappers. He was fourth for the first ten laps of race one and would’ve maintained that position had it not been for the rear spinning a little in the second half of the race. He made such a good start in race two that he nearly got the holeshot, but Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) and Carlos Checa (Honda) just about managed to get in front before the drag downhill to turn one. The day started eventually when race one was red-flagged on the opening lap, due to a pile-up of riders in the first left-hander. The field lined up again, minus John Hopkins (Honda) and this time there was no drama on the first lap. Haga and Spies (Yamaha) disputed the lead for most of the race, but in the end Spies took the win by nearly four seconds. Third went to Carlos Checa, with Rea (Honda) fourth, Biaggi (Aprilia) fifth and Haslam (Honda) sixth. Haga crashed out early in race two and Rea took over the lead. Spies tried to pass him, but Rea kept in front to record his second win of the season. Spies took second, with Carols Checa again third and Haga’s DNF now means that Spies leads the championship by 18 points. Troy – Race 1: 8th, Race 2: 6th I’m having fun on the bike! It’s been a while since I said that this season, but our recent step up at Brno has carried on here and there’s more to come. The bike is easier to ride and is definitely more comfortable. The team have done really well and now the bike feels much more consistent – it’s like a normal bike! I got the results today that I more or less expected, but it was fun to run with the leaders for a while (half distance in the first race) and I know that’s going to happen more often now. I made good starts in both races and very nearly got the holeshot in one! There is still more work to do on the bike of course and today I sort of felt that we were missing out a bit on mid-range acceleration. I’m sure the boys are working on a solution to that and I am looking forward to getting back on the bike in Imola in a couple of weeks time and fighting with the leaders again. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux riders Yukio Kagayama and Karl Muggeridge struggled in both 20-lappers at the Nurburgring World Superbike round in Germany today, with Kagayama’s 10th-place in race two their best finish. After qualifying and Superpole, today was always going to be a tough one for the duo, especially for Muggeridge, who was racing the Suzuki Alstare Brux GSX-R1000 K9 for the very first time. Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: 15th, Race 2: 10th: “My start in race was not so bad, but after only five laps my rear tyre had no grip at all. For a few laps, I tried to push just as hard as normal, but after many near crashes I had to change my riding style and be more steady. So that’s what I did and I was able to get to the end of the race. Between race one and race two, my team and I decided to try a set-up we had never used in a race before. It was a big gamble and for me it was a bit of a scary feeling because I did not know what would happen. I made a good start and was surprised because the feeling was not so bad and I could lap one second a lap faster then the first race! This setting makes me feel a lot more positive about the next race in Imola and now I am looking forward to seeing if it will work as well as we hope.” Karl Muggeridge – Race 1: 12th, Race 2: DNF: “I am disappointed about my crash in race two because my intention was to bring the bike home in both races today. I made a good start from row five in race one and moved up the field a bit, but soon I began having rear grip problems. This meant that the electronics had to work overtime to cope with the problem, and that slowed the bike down. We softened the rear for race two and the grip was better and I was able to lap more quickly. I hadn’t made such a good start this time, so I had to work hard to get up to the group ahead. I decided to try and adjust the engine braking and maybe I changed the run-in to the corners too much and I lost the front. I hadn’t entered the corner any faster than before but I had changed the characteristics of the braking and that probably caused my crash. I suppose it was my mistake really because I think I could’ve got another 12th or better finish otherwise. But I have enjoyed working with the team and hope to get another chance sometime.” WSB Results: Race 1: 1 Spies (USA-Yamaha), 2 Haga (JPN-Ducati), 3 C Checa (ESP-Honda), 4 Rea (GBR-Honda), 5 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia), 6 Haslam (GBR-Honda). 12 Karl Muggeridge (AUS-Suzuki Alstare Brux). 15 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare Brux). Race 2:1 Rea, 2 Spies, 3 C Checa, 4 Biaggi, 5 Haslam, 6 Corser (AUS-BMW). 10 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare Brux). Karl Muggeridge (AUS-Suzuki Alstare Brux) DNF. WSB Points: 1 Spies 364, 2 Haga 346, 3 Fabrizio 289, 4 Rea 244, 5 Biaggi 224, 6 Haslam 201. 12 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare Brux). 15 Max Neukirchner (D-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 75. 29 Karl Muggeridge (AUS-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 8. SUPERSTOCK 1000: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Claudio Corti battled his way up from the fourth row of the grid in the seventh round of this year’s Superstock 1000 FIM Cup at the Nurburgring today to take a hard-fought for fifth place. Xavi Simeon (Ducati) won the 11-lap race, nearly three seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Maxime Berger (Honda), with Javi Fores (Kawasaki) third. Claudio Corti – 5th: “Today was not so easy, but I made a good start and was eighth at the end of the first lap. I had no big problems with my bike in the race, but my main problem was Daniele Beretta. He held me up for a long time and by the time I forced my way past him there was not enough time to catch Giugliano in front. So fifth is not so bad, but it could’ve been even better and that is why I am a bit disappointed today.” Superstock 1000 Results: 1 Simeon (BEL-Ducati), 2 Berger (FRA-Honda), 3 Fores (ESP-Kawasaki), 4 Giugliano (ITA-Suzuki), 5 Claudio Corti (ITA-Suzuki Alstare Brux), 6 Beretta (ITA-Ducati). Championship Points: 1 Simeon 155, 2 Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare Brux) 115, 3 Berger 102, 4 Fores 100, 5 Barrier 67, 6 Beretta 66. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: The Nurburgring GP circuit was witness to an incredible performance from Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies today as he attacked the track to take the championship lead from rival Haga. Race one started well for the American but was almost immediately red flagged for a crash between Tamada, Hopkins and Parkes. The restart saw Spies move up into third behind Rea and Haga until the third lap where he took Rea on the brakes to move into second position. Rea briefly retook the position but held it for mere seconds before relinquishing again to the American missile. Spies then set about reeling in Haga, taking nearly half a second a lap off the Ducati rider’s lead until he had closed it to 0.3 seconds by lap 10. As they entered the chicane at the end of the lap, he pulled a swift move and took the lead, which he held to the line, throwing in an extra turn of speed at the end to increase his lead. Race two saw a less than perfect start with Spies dropping to sixth amid a pack of riders. He fought through the pack to fourth, and gradually worked through to third behind Rea and Haga. Rea and Haga came together going into the first corner of lap four, taking Haga out of the race and leaving Ben to tuck in behind Rea to the finish line, taking second spot on the podium. Tom Sykes got a great start off the line in race one, moving from 11th position up to seventh at the first corner before the restart. As the race restarted he got off the line in tenth, chasing down Nieto who he passed on lap six. He worked hard to close the gap on Corser and Fabrizio in front but had to settle for ninth across the line at the end. Race two saw him get off the line to ninth again, then moving up to eighth by lap two, following team-mate Spies. He continued to charge and on lap 14 took Fabrizio on the brakes going into the first corner of the circuit to take seventh. He dropped one place to eighth but held on ahead of Fabrizio to keep his position over the line. Ben Spies heads to Imola in two weeks time having taken the lead in the World Superbike Championship with an 18 point advantage over demoted Haga with six races remaining. Team mate Tom Sykes leaves Germany sitting in eighth place in the standings just 12 points behind seventh position rider Carlos Checa. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st, 2nd) “the first race was tough, Rea and I battled a bit for the first couple of laps and Nori got away so I had to reel him back in, using a lot of my tyre to do that. When I got to him I knew he was really strong in the first few corners so I slowed the pace a bit and controlled him through there. With three laps to go we pulled the pin and got back down to some fast laps. The second race was a tough one, I didn’t get a great start and had to spend some time working through the pack, when I eventually got up to Rea he had a great pace on so I tucked in and was waiting for him to make a mistake, which unfortunately he didn’t! I used up a lot of my tyres fighting through the pack and was starting to slide around a bit at the end so tucked in and took the points. It’s fantastic to be leading the championship, it’s what we came here to do, so we’re looking forward to getting to Imola and seeing if we can build on this. The team have been brilliant, and have worked really hard all weekend.” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (9th, 8th) ” I’m really disappointed to be honest, my pace in warm up this morning was quite impressive and I knew going into the races that repeating those lap times would mean we were running at the front. Unfortunately we couldn’t repeat it, we were really struggling for grip which we could see in the data afterwards. My braking, corner entry and everything was the same but when I got on the gas I couldn’t use the same percentage of throttle that I was this morning. We tried to change something in race two but it didn’t seem to help. I’m certainly looking forward to putting this weekend behind me and moving on. We’ve got three rounds left now to come up with something special so we’ll see what we comes out.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “we came here with the target of catching Nori, we achieved that and now we are leading the championship. It would be impossible to get a better result. I think Ben really used his head in the second race, he saw that it was tough to catch Rea especially during the last lap so he took the points. This is the first time our team has led the championship so we are very happy. We are now even more motivated to continue like this. It was a really tough weekend for Tom. He had found a really good pace in the earlier sessions but struggled to repeat it in the race. It was disappointing not to see him get a higher position at the end. The settings which seemed to work really well in the practice sessions were not so good in the race for him. We will see if can achieve more at Imola.”