Haga and Spies win in Australia

From the World Superbike Championship

PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA -- Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) took his 1098R to the win in his first race for the factory Ducati squad in the opening round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island, Australia on Sunday. The Japanese rider got the better of German Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) on the final lap to score his 34th win.

The second race saw a sensational maiden triumph for WSB rookie Ben Spies from Texas, who took his Yamaha YZF-R1 to the win over Haga.

The first race, declared 'wet', was held on a totally dry track, and all riders opted for slicks but a few drops of rain did fall in the final stages.

The potential of the K9 Suzuki GSX-R was confirmed with third place for Yukio Kagayama, who finished ahead of Michel Fabrizio on the second Ducati Xerox machine.

Spies, who started from pole, ended up in the gravel at the second turn, but returned to the track to finish just outside the points in 16th.

Max Biaggi, second on the grid with the brand-new Aprilia RSV4 machine, finished in 11th place. The other rookie manufacturer BMW, also had a positive debut after Troy Corser recovered from the fifth row to finish eighth, the Australian setting fastest lap of the race.

"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," Haga said. "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."

The second encounter was all about Haga vs. Spies as the Yamaha rider unleashed the R1's potential. The duel went on until a few laps from the end when the Texan pulled out a slight advantage and powered to the flag.

The runner-up slot put Haga, who turns 34 on Monday, into the lead of the championship on 45 points.

Britain's Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) had a great race for the final podium place, beating the two Ducatis of Règis Laconi (DFX) and  Fabrizio to the line. The group also included Biaggi, who ran third for much of the race. On the final lap however the Italian slid off into the gravel, recovering to finish 15th. However Aprilia, on its return to SBK after six years, is already looking a competitive force.

"The first race was not picture perfect for us," Spies said. "The second one was really tough, we had a couple of goes in the lead and tried to break but couldn't do it so I sat and watched Nori. We were strong in the first half but really slow in the back two corners and I couldn't stay with him, then when the tires went off we just went to the front with four to go and I put my head down.

"WSB was rough but good in the end, the new R1 was great in the first weekend for the big-bang motor. It's such a new machine for the team, hopefully we can get more out of it but for sure it's a front-running bike. WSB is so tight, people don't understand how many fast riders there are here, and it was really great out there today."

Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) won a superb opening World Supersport race in a three-way sprint to the line. The Turk, 2007 champion in the category, took the flag ahead of Australian riders Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda).

Honda, winners of the mid-range Supersport category for the last seven years, begin the new season with four CBR-RR machines in the top four places, with fourth going to Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) of Ireland.

For 24 year-old Sofuoglu, the win is his 11th in the series, while Honda celebrates its 63rd win out of 117 Supersport races.

The Yamahas, which looked good in qualifying, finished fifth in the hands of Cal Crutchlow and seventh with Fabien Foret, who raced with a partially dislocated right shoulder following his crash on Saturday.

The new Triumph 675 also had a positive start, with Gianluca Nannelli finishing 10th and Garry McCoy 14th.

Superbike Race 1 Results
1. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 34:22.631 (170.677 km/h)
2. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9 0.032
3. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9 5.347
4. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.587
5. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 8.491
6. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 8.523
7. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098 RS 09 8.766
8. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 11.589
9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 11.721
10 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 11.761
11. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 12.609
12. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 19.096
13. Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 24.149
14. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 27.416
15.Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 28.173
16. Spies B.(USA) Yamaha YZF R1 28.235    

Superbike Race 2 Results
1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 34:20.457 (170.857 km/h)
2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1.286
3. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 4.213
4. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098 RS 09 4.490
5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.045
6. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9 9.947
7. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 10.174
8. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9 12.100
9. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 12.742
10. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 20.061
11. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 24.854
12. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 25.192
13. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 27.162
14. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 29.737
15. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 30.036
16. Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 38.458    

Superbike Point Standings (after  1 round of 14)
1. Haga (Ducati) 45
2. Neukirchner (Suzuki) 30
3. Haslam (Honda) 26
4. Spies (Yamaha) 25
5. Kagayama (Suzuki) 24
6. Fabrizio (Ducati) 24
7. Laconi (Ducati) 22
8. Rea (Honda) 18
9. Smrz (Ducati) 16
10 Sykes (Yamaha) 12