World Superbikes: Round 9, Race 2 Results from Donington
Spies Wins Again as Haga Air-lifted to Hospital
Yamaha’s Ben Spies took the double at the 9th round of the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park in the UK. The victory was almost flag to flag like the first race after Spies passed a fast starting Max Biaggi within the first few turns. The race was one of attrition with Biaggi crashing out of second and series leader Noriyuki Haga crashing out of 3rd in a nasty tumble that saw him collide with his bike. He was taken to the local hospital with a fractured vertebrae amongst other injuries. Spies closed the points gap to just 14 and markedly increased his title hopes with Haga’s medical status unclear.
Leon Haslam took advantage of the carnage to take second whilst Michel Fabrizio had a much better race this time to finish on the podium. Byrne put on another good show, finishing fourth ahead of fellow Brit Tom Sykes having a good ride on the other Yamaha Italia R1.
Haga was airlifted to nearby Derby hospital and Motorcycle news is reporting that he has a broken scapula and right wrist in addition to his vertebrae and is having trouble breathing. The nature of these injuries are such that it must be highly likely that he will miss rounds of the championship and thus the series lead.
A team of surgeons are waiting for him to arrive at Derby hospital where he will be operated on immediately. Initial diagnosis for recovery is two to three months meaning he will miss numerous rounds of the championship.
link: Motorcycle News
9 other riders crashed out including both Aprilias and Jamie Hacking who was making another wild card appearance on Makoto Tamada’s Kawasaki.
Ben Spies: “It was a picture perfect weekend, I know Haga had a big crash and hope he’s OK. That’s not the way you want to do it but you’ve got to capitalize when things go wrong. The track was definitely hot in the second race and a little bit slick so we made some changes to the bike that made it better. Fortunately we didn’t have to push to the absolute limit but it all worked great today.”
Leon Haslam: “We’ve been struggling for the past few rounds with unknown circuits and I really wanted to get on that podium today. I feel good, obviously feel sorry for Haga because I was pushing him hard and I was pretty happy to get second. In the first race I was really suffering from chatter but everyone in the team has been behind me all weekend so a big thanks to them.”
Michel Fabrizio: “Today Ben was very fast and it was impossible to catch him. In the first race I had a problem with the gear change, while in the second I had a great battle with Haslam. I am very happy with the result, but very sorry for Haga and his crash.”
link: World Superbike Official Site
Haga still leads the series but Spies has closed to within 14 points with Fabrizio a further 37 points behind. The next round of the championship is July 26th in Brno. ducatinewstoday wishes Noriyuki Haga a speedy recovery.
World Superbike Results: Race 2 from Donington Park
1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 35’14.788 (157,512 kph)
2 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 6.622
3 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.816
4 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 7.349
5 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 8.145
6 22 Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 13.463
7 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 15.751
8 27 Ellison J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 16.837
9 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 22.891
10 117 Andrews S. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 30.347
11 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 30.622
12 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 31.562
13 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 32.148
14 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 32.607
15 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 32.806
16 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 34.269
17 79 Young B. (USA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 40.644
18 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 40.956
19 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 41.302
20 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 42.856
21 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 47.769
RET 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R
RET 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R
RET 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory
RET 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R
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