From the World Superbike Championship
Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) won the first race and then controlled the situation in race 2 to take his and Yamaha's first ever World Superbike Championship title in front of a crowd of 86,000 in the final round of the series at Portimao on Sunday.
Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), points leader going into the decider, crashed out in race 1, making things easier for the Texan, who was fifth in the second race.
"First I've got to thank Yamaha for giving me everything I needed to win," the new champion said. "It was really good, we did what we had to do and it was difficult to do that because the pace was quite fast and I saw that there were a couple of people behind me. I knew that if Nori won I had to be sixth, so I tried to stay out of trouble.
"It was spectacular, I can't thank Yamaha enough and everyone who's been behind me for my first year here. It'll sink in in the next couple of days!"
"This weekend we had a problem with the rear tire and in the first race we made a mistake with the tire choice and I crashed," Haga admitted. "Second race was quite good, I was worried for the tire life, but I started to push and I am happy for second position. Unlucky for today for the title but I try to do my best for next year and congratulations to Ben for the world title."
Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) took the win in race 2, while Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) were the other podium finishers.
Race 1 was dominated from start to finish by Spies, who took his 14th win of the season and overhauled Haga in the title chase. The Texan, who rocketed away from the line, comfortably held off any attempts at an attack from Biaggi, then upped his pace to go on to take a solitary chequered flag.
With this result Spies now had a 15-point advantage over Haga, who lost the front and crashed on lap 7 while making up time in fifth place.
"It was actually a really tough race," Spies said. "At first I was just going for the win, getting to the front and not worrying about anything. Then when Haga was out I had to win to get as many points as possible for race 2. Once you have a gap, you don't want to be stupid and throw it all away."
The runner-up slot went to Rea, who got the better of Biaggi after a terrific duel.
"It took a little bit of time for my tires to get right in but when they did they were good until the end," Rea said. "The team and the bike have been working really good and I can't thank them enough. It's the first time I've ever had such a result in race 1 and I'm sure in race 2 I'll be strong again."
The best Ducati rider to the line in fourth place was Shane Byrne, in one of his best races of the year, while fifth went to Fabrizio, who compromised his race with a bad start.
Leon Camier had a good run to sixth for Aprilia, while Ruben Xaus finished eighth on the first BMW.
Both Suzukis failed to finish, Yukio Kagayama crashing out and Sylvain Guintoli was forced to retire.
Spies monitored Haga all the way in race 2 to take the fifth place that was enough to give him the 2009 title. The American only had to finish sixth, but he preferred to shy away from any direct confrontation and together with Haga's second place, the result gave him the title by six points.
Fabrizio scored his third win of the season after a terrific scrap with Rea, who took the final podium slot, while Byrne was again a protagonist of the race and finished fourth.
"Both Jonathan and I showed that we're going to be up at the front next year and we're going to do a lot of these battles," Fabrizio said. "I really wanted that win; Johnny made a mistake here at the last curve, maybe a gear slipped or something, and for me it was all OK. Just as well because otherwise it would have been difficult to overtake him."
Biaggi looked spectacular on the track, but the Italian made several errors and could only finish in sixth, while team-mate Camier ran another convincing race in seventh, ahead of Jakob Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) and Troy Corser (BMW), while this time both Suzuki riders Guintoli and Kagayama finished in the points.
It was mission accomplished for Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) in the World Supersport Championship. Thanks to a fourth place in the final round, the British rider took the 2009 title in his debut year in the championship.
The race win went to title rival Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), who did what he had to do. The runner-up slot went to Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who finished the championship in third place, a result that was made easier by the retirement of his chief rival Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com).
It was a good day also for Triumph, who saw Garry McCoy step onto the podium for the second time this year, and Chaz Davies finish in seventh.
Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox) crowned the Superstock 1000 title he won at Magny-Cours in the best possible way by going on to take a dominant win in the final round at Portimao. For the Belgian rider, who has always been on the podium this year, it was the fifth win in 10 races.
Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare) did everything possible to keep up with the pace of the new champion, before settling for second place a couple of laps from the end. Third went to Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini), who beat off René Mahr (TKR Suzuki) in a sprint finish.
The European Superstock 600 Championship battle had a terrific ending as Britain's Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) scored a third place finish in the race to take the title by just one point from Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno), winner on Sunday ahead of Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha), who finished third overall in the standings.
The race revolved around the duel between these three riders, who repeatedly exchanged positions and the result went right down to the line.
Superbike Race 1 Results
1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF-R1 38:15.390 (158.442 km/h)
2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR +1.697
3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory +2.113
4. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R +2.757
5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R +14.753
6. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory +20.044
7. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR +25.634
8. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR +31.104
9. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR +36.689
10. Baiocco M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R +39.331
11. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R +41.827
12. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-10R +41.882
13. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R +54.967
14. Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF-R1 +1:38.533
15. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R +4 Laps
No other finishers
Superbike Race 2 Results
1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 38:19.654 (158.148 km/h)
2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R +1.195
3. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR +1.494
4. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R +5.553
5. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF-R1 +5.842
6. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory +7.374
7. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory +9.658
8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R +10.434
9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR +17.010
10. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9 +24.509
11. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9 +27.195
12. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R +34.825
13. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR +35.135
14. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R +1:01.842
15. Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF-R1 +1:09.782
16. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-10R +1:30.818
Final Superbike Points
1. Spies 462
2. Haga 456
3. Fabrizio 382
4. Biaggi 319
5. Rea 315
6. Haslam 241
7. Checa 209
8. Byrne 192
9. Sykes 176
10. Smrz 169
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