Haga Philosophical Over Miller Trial
Xerox Ducati’s World Superbike Championship points leader, Noriyuki Haga, had a troubled weekend during Round 7 of the series at Miller Motorsports Park. Haga, who is no fan of the circuit, struggled with setup and then seemed a little battered and bruised after a crash during the Superpole. His results were an uncharacteristic 9th and 8th in the 2 races which were dominated by Yamaha’s Ben Spies.
Haga started well from the 3rd row of the grid only to progressively fade as the race went on. Ironically the poor showing is further evidence of Haga’s newfound maturity as he still gained valuable points at a circuit where he broke his collarbone in 4 places last year. Amazingly that was the first time he had broken a bone in a motorcycle crash!
“I did not have a very good feeling with my bike in Race 1″ claimed Haga. “It was very hot out there and I can’t say I was having an easy time. We changed the setting a little for the second race but I still wasn’t able to fight for the podium despite the fact that it was only a few seconds out of grasp. Unfortunately many riders were just stronger than me today. I am not 100% of course after my crash yesterday and I didn’t expect to win here today but I am happy to have taken points all the same, important points for the championship. I’ll get back in shape before Misano where I want to be back fighting for the win.”
link: Official World SBK Site
Haga still maintains a healthy 53 point lead over Spies and we should see the former Sultan of Slide turned King of Calm back at the front of the field at Misano. Teammate Michel Fabrizio continued his recent good form following his first win at Monza by finishing 3rd and 2nd in the 2 races. Spies and the 2 Ducati riders are in a class above the other series regulars with points scores of 265 (Haga), 212 (Spies) and 201 respectively. Jonathan Rea is 4th on 133 points.
Race 1
Spies dominated the first race to cut the gap at the top of the table, as Haga could only finish in ninth place, losing 18 points in the process. The race was interrupted on lap 7 after a crash involving Australian Karl Muggeridge (Celani Suzuki), who only came away with a few bruises. Spies powered away again in the second part to win by a comfortable margin on aggregate times. Behind Spies finished Spain’s Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), last year’s double winner, and third place went to Fabrizio who was slowed by two poor starts. It was a good day for Ten Kate Honda as Ryuichi Kiyonari and Jonathan Rea came home in fourth and fifth position respectively. Max Biaggi started from row 4 but worked his way up to sixth position at the flag on his Aprilia RSV4 machine.
Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 38’30.945 (160,527 kph); 2. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 9.394; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 12.742; 4. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 14.276; 5. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 14.915; 6. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 15.461; 7. Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 22.901; 8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 25.425; 9. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 25.870; 10. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 26.093; 11. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 26.181; 12. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 29.275; 13. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 38.365; 14. Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 39.454; 15. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 39.513; 16. Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 48.889
Race 2
The second race was similar to the first, with the three-times AMA Superbike champion Spies taking the lead at the first turn and never relinquishing it. Fabrizio this time got off to an excellent start and was second at the first corner, the Italian managing to keep Spies in his sights for over half the race before settling for the runner-up slot. Checa crashed out on lap 4, leaving the battle for the final podium place to be fought out between Rea, Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda), who crashed out on the final lap, and Biaggi, competitive in the race after problems in qualifying. Kiyonari, Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) and Shinya Nakano (Aprilia Racing) all finished ahead of Haga in eighth. It was an encouraging race for Kawasaki, with Parkes and Hacking often running inside the top 10, but BMW again had a difficult time of things with Xaus and Corser finishing outside the top 15.
link: Official World SBK Site
Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 38’25.391 (160,914 kph);2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 9.080; 3. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 14.357; 4. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 15.636; 5. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 17.156; 6. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 17.546; 7. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 19.659; 8. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 23.455; 9. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 30.489; 10. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 31.775; 11. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 33.246; 12. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 36.758; 13. Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 36.887; 14. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 37.290; 15. Zemke J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 42.639; 16. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 42.777
Points (after 7 of 14 rounds): 1. Haga 265; 2. Spies 212; 3. Fabrizio 201; 4. Rea 133; 5. Biaggi 126; 6. Haslam 122; 7. Sykes 113; 8. Kyonari 96; 9. Checa 93; 10. Smrz 82. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 311; 2. Yamaha 253; 3. Honda 206; 4. Aprilia 129; 5. Suzuki 113; 6. Bmw 60; 7. Kawasaki 41
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