Fabrizio and Spies split Monza wins

By John Hopkins
with files from worldsbk.com

Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio scored an emotional home win in the first race while Ben Spies of the Yamaha World Superbike team bounced back from race one disappointment to dominate the second race at round five of the World Superbike Championship in Monza, Italy on Sunday.

After a dramatic race-long battle with the Ducatis of Fabrizio and championship leader Noriyuki Haga, Spies looked set to pick up the win in the opening 18-lap counter only to have his R1 run out of fuel in the final turn.

That allowed Fabrizio to pick up his first ever World Superbike win, crossing the line just 0.239 secs. ahead of Haga on the second of the factory 1098s.

Max Biaggi crossed the finish line third on his Aprilia RSV4 Factory but was penalized 20 seconds for cutting one of the chicanes, which dropped him to 11th in the final results. That left Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR rider Ryuichi Kiyonari a surprised third -- after starting the final lap in fifth -- while Yukio Kagayama placed fourth on his Team Alstare Brux Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Kiyonari's Ten Kate Honda team-mate Jonathan Rea completed the top five.

"Well, I really didn't expect this win, even though I'd been up at the front for the past two days," Fabrizio admitted. "I had a small problem when the gearing hit neutral after Ben and I touched and I was not able to find second. He got away a bit from me but I thought I had to fight until the very end because I was convinced I could do it. But I think his fuel finished, a real pity for him."

Haga got the holeshot at the start of the opening 18-lap race but Fabrizio moved ahead entering the Ascari chicane on the first lap and held the lead until lap five, when he ran wide exiting turn one and allowed Spies and Haga through.

Spies opened up a gap of just over a second through the middle part of the race but Fabrizio got back around Haga and the pair of Ducatis closed back up on the Yamaha. Fabrizio passed Spies at the start of lap 16 only to have the Texan regain the top spot with a wild pass in Roggia on the penultimate lap. Haga also got through into second but was quickly repassed by Fabrizio, and it looked like the pair of 1098s would be duelling over second on the final lap before Spies slowed suddenly in the Parabolica. He was classified 15th.

"My bike was working good but this weekend we had a little problem that we tried to find but we didn't resolve and it wasn't perfect," Haga said afterward.

Spies' team-mate Tom Sykes was sixth ahead of the BMW S 1000 RR of Ruben Xaus. Ducati privateer Regis Laconi, Ten Kate Honda's Carlos Checa and the Kawasaki of an injured Broc Parkes completed the top 10.

The opening race had to be restarted after a red flag for an opening corner crash that involved at least four motorcycles. Team Alstare Brux Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner came off the worst, suffering a broken right femur and dislocated right foot.

Haga grabbed the holeshot at the start of race two but before the lap was half over Spies had moved to the front and the Texan was in control the rest of the way. He opened up a margin of amost six seconds by lap 12 before easing off with an apparent problem on his bike in the waning laps. He still crossed the finish line 2.665 secs. clear of Fabrizio, who just held off Kiyonari for second after a race long duel.

"We put our head down in race two and had to get into a good rhythm in the first 12 or 14 laps because we were obviously having a problem at the end of the race," Spies explained. "I had to slow down and do the short-shifting trick and make sure everything was good till the end."

After apparently being hit by a bird in the first corner Haga slipped to 15th on the opening lap and then crashed out of the race in the Parabolica on lap three. The Japanese left Monza with a 54-point edge over Spies in the World Superbike standings, 200-146, with Fabrizio now third on 125.

Rea finished fourth for Ten Kate Honda in race two and Biaggi was fifth on the Aprilia, the Italian losing ground on lap 10 when he had a big moment going into turn one and then amost highsided on the exit.

Sykes was sixth while Stiggy Honda's Leon Haslam rose from 20th on the grid to place seventh. Ducati rider Jakub Smrz came out on top of a fraught four-bike battle to claim eighth just ahead of Xaus, Checa and Laconi.

Subbing for the injured John Hopkins on the second Stiggy Honda, Jake Zemke placed 18th and 20th in the two races, his second race spoiled by a ride through penalty for cutting a chicane.

Cal Crutchlow is proving to be the man on form in the World Supersport Championship with his second win of the season at Monza. The Yamaha World Supersport rider now has an 18-point lead in the championship over his closest rival, Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), who finished fourth.

The race came to a head four laps before the end, when Crutchlow gradually pulled away from Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) and Laverty to take the win.

The battle for the podium was an exciting one, with Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Provec) powering up through the field to take a superb second place. The Spaniard managed to get the better in a sprint finish, confirming his Kawasaki to be right on the pace.

Team-mate Katsuaki Fuijiwara followed this up with sixth place.

The two Hannspree Ten Kate Honda men, Andrew Pitt and Kenan Sofuoglu were never in the hunt, finishing fifth and ninth respectively, while Garry McCoy and Gianluca Nannelli took the two Triumph Be1 machines to top 10 finishes.

Victory in the third round of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup went the way of Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare) after a thrilling last-lap sprint around the Parabolica to the line with another of the pre-race favourites, Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox). The Italian attacked on the inside line and held off his Belgian rival by just 0.01 seconds.

Thanks to this win, his second of the season, Corti returns to the top of the table, with a one-point lead over Simeon. The final podium slot went to Javier Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini), who remained in the leading battle until the last few laps.

Italian Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno ) had a triumphant day at the Monza track, winning the Superstock 600 race and moving back into the lead of the table. Previous leader Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) could only manage ninth place at the finish.

Superbike Results Race One
1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 31:50.758 (196.459 km/h)
2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R +0.239
3. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR +8.175
4. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +11.001
5. Rea J. (GBR)Honda CBR1000RR +12.447
6. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF-R1 +13.693
7. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR +19.172
8. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R +24.989
9. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR +26.930
10. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R +27.418
11. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory +27.752
12. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R +29.545
13. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory +30.952
14. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R +31.414
15. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF-R1 +36.998
16. Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +42.732

Superbike Results Race Two
1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF-R1 31:49.252 (196.614 km/h)
2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R +2.665
3. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR +2.810
4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR +7.706
5. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory +7.863
6. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF-R1 +10.383
7. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR +11.586
8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R +21.112
9. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR +22.112
10. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR +22.261
11. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R +23.453
12. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory +32.956
13. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R +37.166
14. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R +43.085
15. Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R +43.088
16. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR +43.825

Superbike Point Standings
1. Haga 200
2. Spies 146
3. Fabrizio 125
4. Haslam 103
5. Sykes 90
6. Biaggi 81
7. Laconi 77
8. Rea 77
9. Neukirchner 75
10. Kiyonari