Haga and Spies split races, but a faulty
front tires costs Spies valuable points
Title contenders Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) scored a win apiece in the penultimate round of the Superbike World Superbike but it is the Japanese rider who now has the advantage in the points table. The Texan dominated race 1 but Nitro-Nori responded in the second encounter with a lights-to-flag victory, as Spies was unable to go any higher than fourth. Ten points now separate the two as the series heads for its final round in Portugal in three weeks time. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) scored two more podium finishes for Aprilia Racing, a third and a second, Jonathan Rea (Ten Kate Honda) grabbed a third.
Spies and Haga predictably set the first race alight as they fought for the win. At the flag it was the Texan who took the maximum points with his 13th win of the season after leading from the start, but he was made to fight for it by his Japanese rival. Haga was the quickest man on the track at the end but paid the price of a slow start and being held up behind Biaggi for too long, thus losing touch with Spies. The Italian did take the final podium slot however, confirming the RSV4's competitiveness at the French circuit. Fourth place went to Fabrizio, who lost touch with the leading group in the early stages, losing out on any chance of the podium. Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing) was the leading Honda man to the finish with a positive fifth place, ahead of the Hannspree Ten Kate machine of Carlos Checa. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) had a good run in seventh, the Japanese rider finishing ahead of Shane Byrne (Ducati Sterilgarda) and the BMW of Troy Corser. Jonathan Rea had a technical problem and was out on lap 7, and another problem also brought a halt to the debut race for Leon Camier (Aprilia Racing).
Haga made amends in the second race, the Ducati Xerox man dominating almost from start to finish after a much better start. Haga got the better of Biaggi on the opening lap and then held the pace right until the end for his eighth win of the season. Spies this time could only struggle to fourth after encountering tyre problems. Biaggi had a great scrap with Rea for second, while Haslam put in another solid performance to take his Stiggy Racing Honda to another fifth. The two Suzukis went quite well at the French circuit, with both riders finishing in the top 10, Yukio Kagayama sixth and Karl Muggeridge eighth, but BMW could only bring their men home in tenth (Corser) and twelfth (Xaus). Fabrizio had another rather unconvincing run, the Italian crashing out while trying to pass Byrne and then remounting to finish in thirteenth place.
Noriyuki Haga - Ducati Xerox - 2nd/1st
In Race 1 I really enjoyed myself, it was a fantastic race. I didn't make the best start and then it took a lot of laps before I was able to pass Max. Once I got past him I realized I didn't have many laps left in which to catch Ben; if I'd had just one extra lap, I think I'd have won. On the last lap I was waiting for Ben to make a mistake and when he did so, I managed to get up alongside him but unfortunately the next corner worked in his favour and he got past me. Then, in the second race, we made some small changes to my bike and they worked, giving me more confidence. This victory is truly a great result as we have regained a small advantage. I am also extremely pleased that my results have awarded us the Constructors title. Thanks to Ducati and to my race engineer Ernesto Marinelli for giving me a great bike for Race 2; and to the whole Ducati Xerox team because my first year in Ducati is fantastic. Now we go to Portimao where Ben and I will fight for the 2009 title - I can't wait.
Max Biaggi - Aprilia - 3rd/2nd
[Race 1]I give it my best but I saw that Ben could do high 38s in the warm-up and that was very difficult for us. During the first part of the race I pushed hard and had a good tyre, I was fast in some parts of the track but not in others. But overall I'm near maximum. Then I made a mistake when Nori came, I put a wrong gear and he overtook me, but overall Aprilia and myself made a very good race. [Race 2] I'm very happy and it was a very hard race. From the beginning everyone was fast, the top 4 or 5 were at a very similar pace. I had a good rhythm, I followed Nori, he looked very confident, I was wondering if he could keep the pace until the end and I got my answer because he was still lapping well. At the start of the race someone ran off the track and a big stone broke my window and I was worried that the radiator was broken. I started to push again and for me it was a good race.
Ben Spies - Yamaha
I tried as hard as I could in that second race, but just went backwards. It's unfortunate, but we got some sort of faulty [front] tire in the second race. It was a bad time for that to happen, but it's part of racing. It felt like I had a motorhome tire on the thing and there was nothing I could do. With the way I had to ride I was fortunate to be able to finish in the top-10, so I feel very lucky to get fourth. This makes the equation very simple for me at Portimao. I've been in this position before where I needed to win to earn a championship, so it's not new. I was making a bunch of little mistakes in the first race. I should have won that going away, but with the mistakes Nori was able to catch me. I ran wide in that corner and Nori got by me for about a half second. I knew I could get back under him, so I squared it up, got on the gas and got back in front. I figured he might make another attempt to get by, but I was able to hold him off. Realistically, even if I'd won race two Nori would have been close enough in the points that I would still have to win at Portimao. So nothing's changed. We have to put together a perfect weekend in Portugal. It's still possible to win the championship and just to be in that position is a great feeling. Regardless of how it turns out I feel like I've had a phenomenal season. I'm a rookie here racing a world championship on tracks I don't know against one of the greatest World Superbike racers of all time. To even be in the position to fight for this title with Nori is more than I could have expected. I'm going to race hard, Portimao is one of my favorite tracks and I'm looking forward to racing there.
Jonathan Rea - Ten Kate Honda - DNF/3rd
All weekend we've had a good pace but it just seems that, come the first race, we couldn't put it together. I'm really sorry for the team because I take a lot of the blame for that. It put me out of my rhythm and then I got a bit of arm pump towards the end of race two. I was running with the guys at the front until about five laps from the end because the package we had here was as strong as at Imola last week. We'll regroup back at the workshop and come back strong for Portimao.
Magny Cours/French SBK - Race 1 - 23 Laps
1. SPIES Yam YZF-R1 37:57.110
2. HAGA Duc 1098F09 -0.181
3. BIAGGI Apr RSV4 -5.009
4. FABRIZIO Duc 1098F09 -16.347
5. HASLAM Hon CBR1000RR -22.622
6. CHECA Hon CBR1000RR -24.948
7. KAGAYAMA Suz GSX-R1000 -27.144
8. BYRNE Duc 1098R -27.578
9. CORSER BMW S1000 RR -28.486
10. SMRZ Duc 1098R -28.716
Magny Cours/French SBK - Race 2 - 23 Laps
1. HAGA Duc 1098F09 38:00.282
2. BIAGGI Apr RSV4 -1.480
3. REA Hon CBR1000RR -6.024
4. SPIES Yam YZF-R1 -18.135
5. HASLAM Hon CBR1000RR -21.236
6. KAGAYAMA Suz GSX-R1000 -23.647
7. BYRNE Duc 1098R -23.701
8. MUGGERIDGE Suz GSX-R1000 -24.838
9. CHECA Hon CBR1000RR -31.455
10. CORSER BMW S1000 RR -32.507
Championship Point Standings (after 26 of 28 races)
1. Haga 436
2. Spies 426
3. Fabrizio 346
4. Biaggi 293
5. Rea 279
6. Haslam 241
7. Checa 200
8. Sykes 176
9. Byrne 166
10. Smrz 161
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