World Superbikes: Round 1, Race 1 Results
Haga Makes a Perfect Start, Spies Disappoints
In perhaps the most eagerly anticipated start to a World Superbike Championship, Noriyuki Haga won first time out on the factory Xerox Ducati, the popular Japanese rider winning for the first time in a decade at the Phillip Island circuit and making the best possible start to the season which is widely touted to be his best chance to the win the title that has eluded him.
Haga didn’t have it all his own way with the race only decided a few turns from the flag as Max Neukirchner took the Alstare Suzuki to second place. His teammate, Yukio Kagayama, finished in third. The sensation of qualifying, rookie Ben Spies, squandered his pole position by running off the circuit at turn 2 on the first lap. He failed to score any points in his series debut, finishing 16th. Another disappointment was Ducati notable, Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, who also failed to fire crashing out of the race.
The weather was noticeably colder as Jonathan Rea (Ten Kate Honda) led the field into the first turn, whilst Haga had another of his characteristic good starts finishing the first lap in 4th place despite only starting 13th on the grid, the result of difficulties in adapting to the revised Superpole system.
Drama struck in only the second turn as pole sitter and series rookie, Ben Spies, ran the new Yamaha off the track, effectively ending his race. Haga hit the front on lap 4 but could not pull away as Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki) joined him. Showing renewed discipline, Haga shadowed the German until passing him with 5 laps to go. Nitro Nori couldn’t get away, especially as the Suzuki was much faster on the long Gardner straight.
Neukirchner came past on the straight as they began the last lap. Halfway round that final lap, spots of rain began to appear. The Suzuki had a big slide over the top of Lukey Heights allowing Haga to sneak up the inside coming into MG hairpin for the last time. Max gathered the powerful Suzuki up enough to almost pip Haga at the line but the Ducati rider finished first, just three hundredths of a second ahead. Kagayama brought the second Alstare Suzuki home in 3rd, a further 5 seconds behind.
Michel Fabrizio brought the second factory Ducati home in 4th ahead of Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam. Other Ducati notables included Régis Laconi in 7th and Jakob Smrz in 9th. Favored as a rider to watch this year, Shane Byrne had an inauspicious start to his season crashing out his Sterilgarda Ducati.
The BMW performed best of the new manufacturers, with the experienced Troy Corser bringing his home in 8th place. After running higher up the order early in the race, Max Biaggi scored 11th on the Aprilia RSV4. After running off the track in the second turn, Spies failed to score points in his series debut, finishing 16th.
So a perfect start to the season for Haga. What will Race 2 bring? Can Haga do the double and clearly begin a season strongly (something he has often failed to do in the past)? Will Ben Spies make amends for a disastrous start to his season? Will the fast Suzukis be able to do one better? Find out now by going to Race 2.
Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox): “One thing that I have is great experience because in 2005 I was in 16th and won a race, so now everybody knows it doesn’t matter where the start position is, we don’t need qualifying! I’m very happy for the win, I have just switched to Ducati, I already had four crashes with the bike, but our team did a great job. In the last two laps it started to rain a bit then on the last lap Max passed me but I put big pressure on him thinking where to pass him. He made a mistake and I won.”
Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare): “On the last lap I made a little mistake and that probably cost me the win. The last five laps Nori was in front and I could see that he had a bit better traction on the last corner but I caught him on the last lap and I said ‘I win, I win’ but it was too much and I had a small slide and that was it.”
Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare): “I’m happy to get the podium, my last one was in 2007! Both for Max and me our starting positions were not so good, and too many riders caught me in the early laps. But I did a steady ride to third.”
1 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 34’22.631 (170,677 kph)
2 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 0.032
3 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 5.347
4 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.587
5 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 8.491
6 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 8.523
7 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098 RS 09 8.766
8 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 11.589
9 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 11.721
10 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 11.761
11 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 12.609
12 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 19.096
13 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 24.149
14 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 27.416
15 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 28.173
16 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 28.235
17 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 37.348
18 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 37.401
19 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 42.614
20 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’03.794
21 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R
RET 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR
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