World Superbike (SBK), Round 8 – Misano – ‘the Race’
- From: 'the Wire' | Published: June 22nd, 2009 - 11:04 am
2009 Superbike World Championship – Round 8 - Misano, Italy - Sunday, June 21st.
Conditions: Race 1 – Wet, then dry 18C.
Race 2: Mostly dry, 26C,
Crowd: 65,000 (3-day)
Race one saw drama unfold as the World Superbike riders headed out for a wet race but were forced to change midway for slicks as the rain stopped and the sun broke out. Yamaha rider Ben Spies spent most of the wet heat in 4th tucked up behind rival Fabrizio as he paced himself on the damp track. He picked the ideal time to change to his dry bike on lap 13, emerging from the pits right behind Fabrizio, taking him swiftly for 8th position. Spies then displayed a typical Texan masterclass in racing, working swiftly up to take Xaus for the lead on lap 17, leading from there to the chequered flag. Race two saw a technical issue with the clutch drop Spies from 2nd back to 17th. He then proved his skill yet again, riding round the fault to work through eight riders to take ninth in the race.
Team-mate Tom Sykes made up for an average qualifying position to post good finishes in both races. Race one saw the British rider pit early for slicks and then come out fighting in 13th, enjoying the damp conditions he pushed on to eventually take eighth at the chequered flag. Race two saw a good start, Sykes moving to 11th then fighting hard all the way up to duel with Haslam for the 7th place spot as the race end drew close. Having lost the spot to Haslam on lap 20 he took it back again and crossed the line to claim his well deserved points.
Spies now prepares for Donington next week on 244 points, second in the championship and now closer to Haga, with 48 points separating them. Sykes heads back to the UK for his home race seventh in the championship on 130 points, with only five points separating him from fifth placed Max Biaggi.
Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st, 9th)
“Race one was definitely better than race two! It was good for us, we did what we had to do. I stayed as close as I could to Fabrizio, I couldn’t run Byrne’s pace but wanted to stay with Michel as he was the one who mattered to me in the championship. I picked the right moment to come in and get out on dry tires and switch bikes and put in good pace and we managed to win the race. Race two wasn’t so great, I had an issue with the clutch on the start, for the first few laps I was short shifting and trying to ride round it. It finally came better but when I got behind Corser and Kagayama and those guys I couldn’t get round them easily. The last seven or eight laps it came good and I tried to run everyone down and started picking them off. I got up to Sykes and Haslam and they were having their little battle, we were definitely faster but I needed another lap to get round them which I didn’t have. It’s frustrating as we’ve lost good points this year and we’d be leading the championship with them. We’ll go to Donington and try to start over again and see what happens.”
Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (8th, 7th)
“From where we qualified we’ve made a bit better day of things than I expected. For race 1 in the wet I had some difficulty with too much traction in the first heat. I pulled in a bit sooner than I would have done if I’d had a perfect wet set up. In the second half we were fast and consistent, I really enjoyed it, the 14 laps felt like two it was over so quickly. Race two we made a couple more changes and I was pretty happy with the balance of the bike, I struggled with some rear grip but we’re improving the small bits and it’s onwards and upwards. It’s been a tough weekend and I’d like to thank the whole of the team, we’ve put our heads together and they put in a lot of hard work and effort to improve the bike.”
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“The first race was amazing, the second race was different! In the end we came here 54 points behind Nori and now we’re 48 points behind so it’s still better for the championship. Tom made a great improvement which was really important for him so now we’re going to Donington where he will make another step. Both Ben and Tom know the track there, and Ben has showed us that when he doesn’t have to learn the track he can be even quicker. See you in a week.”
Crutchlow adds Misano to his list of conquered circuits
With a track both wet and dry and a race red flagged and re-started, it was never going to be a straightforward day for Yamaha World Superbike rider Cal Crutchlow. Having initially dropped back to eighth at the start he showed incredible pace to work back up to lead the race, taking less than two laps to pass the seven riders. He led until a red flag for oil on the track brought the supersport riders back into the pits. As the race re-started Crutchlow shot off to take the lead which he held until lap 18 where second placed rider Eugene Laverty dived underneath having pursued Crutchlow from the off. Two laps later Crutchlow took the lead back in a decisive overtake up the inside of Laverty and powered on to take the chequered flag.
Team-mate Fabien Foret worked hard from his less than perfect grid start spot. Race one saw him close in on the top ten, making up several places leading up to the red flag incident. The Frenchman put his head down in the second heat and put in consistent fast laps, much happier in the dry conditions of the race and eventually took Nannelli for eighth at the chequered flag.
Crutchlow heads for his home race in Donington leading the championship with 160 points ahead of second placed Laverty on 146. Team-mate Foret also holds onto his seventh spot in the standings and heads to the UK with 63 points, just 10 behind 2008 champion Andrew Pitt.
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (1st)
“it was great to come here to Misano and take the win. It’s all credit to the team, they did a fantastic job again and we’re back to winning form. Let’s hope we can continue this, bring it home to Donington and take another victory.”
Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (8th)
“It’s been a tough race weekend for me. Qualifying wasn’t great with the difficult changing weather making it hard to get a good spot on the grid. I put my head down today and worked to get as far up the pack as I could. I’m trying to improve my early laps to stay with the front guys to get back onto the podium.”
Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager
“Well! It was an unbelievable race I would say. Again Cal and Eugene were very close. I’m so happy Cal was able to keep some distance between them on the last lap with an incredible 1’38.8 which is 1’3 seconds under the lap record, the pace was amazing. It’s going to be hard until the last race! Fabien came from 18th position, so he worked hard. It’s tough as we were expecting him to do better and he knows that so the mission is to practice more and get better first and second laps and he’ll be up there. We’re looking forward to Donington, we can see the hard work the team are doing is paying off.”
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Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea won the second of today’s two eighth round World Superbike championship races at Misano in Italy – his first win in his debut season.
It was a stunning bounce back after the 22-year-old was dogged by bad luck in the opening 24-lap encounter at the 4.2km Misano circuit. In wet conditions, Rea’s number one machine developed a fuel problem on the sighting lap and he was given a ride back to the pits by his Ten Kate team-mate, Ryuichi Kiyonari.
However, both riders were given a ride-through penalty for contravening regulations, a punishment compounded by Rea being denied access to the grid on his spare machine. He was forced to start the warm-up lap from pit lane and the race from the back of the grid.
Rea got a scorching start and was in tenth place by the end of lap one, despite a clash with Kiyonari which finished the Japanese rider’s race through a broken gear shift and left a hole in Rea’s right foot from his team-mate’s footpeg. He moved up to sixth place before pitting for his ride-through penalty. With the track then drying, riders began coming into pit lane to change to dry tires, Rea changing on lap twelve before setting a succession of fastest laps and finishing in an impressive seventh place.
With the circuit dry, Rea’s performance in race two was even more impressive. Starting from second place on the grid, the Northern Irishman slipped past Noriyuki Haga for the lead on lap four. Haga and his Ducati team-mate, Michel Fabrizio, each took turns at the front later in the race, but Rea dived past the Italian early in the final lap and held him at bay to take a stunning victory.
Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Carlos Checa, took 11th place in the rain affected first outing and posted an impressive fifth place in race two, after chasing Rea and the two Ducatis for much of the race.
Jonathan Rea – 7th and 1st
I jus t want to thank the whole crew and the Andreani group for working so hard to help make this happen. It really bodes well for us all for the rest of the season. We knew we had the pace this weekend but race one was a pretty bad situation. I needed to start with scrubbed tires in the wet but the problem on the sighting lap finished that plan. With the penalties and brand new tires and having destroyed my footrest and rear brake in the crash with Kiyo, it was difficult, so seventh was about as good as we could have hoped for. Race two was great and, as soon as I knew I had the pace to match the two Ducatis I was comfortable. I tried a few different lines in the closing laps to probe and find the best way through. When I got past Fabrizio, it was pretty straightforward. It’s really nice to win here in Italy, in Ducati’s back yard, where we thought it would be quite hard. But we’ve come leaps and bounds recently and hopefully we can fight at the front in every race.
Carlos Checa – 11th and 5th
I am actually quite positive, even though we did not have the perfect set-up and had some problems with movement in the rear of the bike. With those problems, I was struggling to match the pace of Jonathan and the two Ducatis. It’s been a very busy weekend with new suspension in the bike and we had a few things that we wanted to test this morning. However, the wet conditions made that impossible. Considering the big changes we have been working with this weekend, I think we can take a lot of positives to Donington next weekend.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
It’s been a very up and down day and a long road to success this season, with some difficult development steps with the CBR1000RR. Although we still have a few more plans and ideas that we want to try, Jonathan’s win today was a major breakthrough. I’d like to thank him and the other riders, the whole crew and Honda for staying loyal to us, and a special thanks to Andr! eani Gro up for all their hard work this week. Although the championship may be out of our reach this season, our intentions for the rest of the year are quite clear – winning!
Ten Kate Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari insists on taking positives from his eighth round World Superbike championship encounters at Misano in Italy, in spite of disappointing results. Today’s two races were won by American Ben Spies and Kiyonari’s Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Jonathan Rea.
In race one, Kiyonari gave the stricken Rea a lift back to the pits after the Northern Irishman’s bike suffered fuelling problems on the sighting lap. However, his gesture resulted in a ride-through penalty for both riders.
Kiyonari was unable to take his ride-through after a near-highside on the opening lap. Rea, who started from the back of the grid for a pit lane infringement, was unable to avoid Kiyonari, who sustained a broken gear-shift and engine damage and was forced to retire.
In race two, the Japanese ace endured a difficult race and was unable to maintain lap times to challenge for the leading positions, finishing in 14th place.
Ryuichi Kiyonari – DNF and 14th
The first race was difficult with the first lap crash. I had a big high-side but stayed on the bike and Jonathan hit me, although it was not his fault. My gearshift was broken and there was some engine damage so I could not continue past the first lap. In race two, things were OK, but I did not have the same feeling that I had on Saturday and could not keep the lap times. The setting is definitely coming better though and with small steps we are improving. I hope at Donington, things will be even better because I like it there. After that, we have a test in Imola with more improvement I hope.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
It was a disappointing race day for Kiyonari-san, who showed good pace in the practice and qualifying sessions. We thought he was due some good luck this weekend, but maybe that will have to wait until Donington, where we know he can be very fast whether it&rsq! uo;s wet or dry.
WSS
Andrew Pitt and Kenan Sofuoglu both crashed out of today’s eighth round World Supersport championship race at Misano in Italy. Neither rider was injured, but the race was red flagged just after Sofuoglu’s crash because of oil on the track, with Britain’s Cal Crutchlow winning on aggregate time after the restart.
After yesterday’s difficult qualifying session run in changing conditions, Pitt and Sofuoglu started from ninth and 11th place on the grid. After a superb start, Pitt slotted into second place at the first turn and was leading the race two corners later. However, whilst pushing to extend his lead, the Australian lost the front at Misano’s fast turn 10 – sixth gear at 211kph (131mph).
Sofuoglu, meanwhile, slotted into fifth place but saw his championship rivals, Crutchlow and Eugene Laverty making a break at the front. After passing Katsuaki Fujiwara for third place, the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider crashed exiting turn one.
Sofuoglu did not return to his pit garage in time to make the restart, resulting in a double DNF for the Honda-mounted pair.
Andrew Pitt – DNF
There is simply no point running around for fifth and sixth place finishes, which we’ve had for the last few races. I need to start winning again and that was all that was in my mind today. The problem is that we’ve been testing new suspension and had very little dry track time. Yesterday’s qualifying was difficult but my start was pretty good and I was just pushing for the win and we know what happened. It was fast enough and my neck and shoulder are a little sore but I’ll be OK again by next weekend.
Kenan Sofuoglu – DNF
It’s been a bad weekend for us and our championship. We needed to test these new suspension components but there has just been too much rain this weekend. We had to guess at the dry set-up for the race but I kn! ew quite early that it was not quite right. The rear was spinning way too much on the corner exit and I had some problems getting past Fujiwara. When I finally got through, I had to push hard to reach the others and I crashed.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
There is not really much to say. It’s been a disappointing day that we must put behind us. We really need to shape up for next weekend at Donington and for the remaining races this season.
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Team Sterilgarda BRC Racing returns on the podium and what better place to do it than Misano Adriatico. Shakey Byrne put on a great performance on a surface which was at first wet but then dried out during the 24 laps of the race. The English rider coped well with the water and built an advantage but with 5 laps left he got back to the pits to change tires. When he returned on the track, Ben Spies had already taken the top spot. He did however maintain position until the chequered flag was displayed.
SHANE BYRNE – Ducati 1098R – 2nd, 6th : “I’m very happy with my first podium position with Sterilgarda. After a difficult season start, I improved progressively and today I managed to score a great result on my team’s home ground. I had a good feeling with the track when it was still wet and built a pretty good advantage. Once I changed tires it took me a few laps to get back in rhythm and Spies overtook me. Getting back on the podium gives you a great feeling and boosts your confidence. I also did pretty well in race 2 when the track had completely dried out. I maintained position at the start and was just behind the front runners. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake and lost contact but I’m still happy with my performance because I set the fastest time in the last lap. I’m really in good form and the Donington round couldn’t have come in a better moment”.
MARCO BORCIANI – team manager: “It’s a wonderful feeling to get back on the podium. It seems like Misano is our track since last year Xaus won and Biaggi finished second. We did very well today as well and we’re getting better every time. It’s really a shame that Shane made those small mistakes in race 2. He could’ve fought for a podium position yet again. However, we finished 4 seconds off the winner’s time and next week Shane will race on his home track at Donington”.
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WITH THREE PODIUMS FOR THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM AT MISANO TODAY, DUCATI CELEBRATES 700TH SUPERBIKE PODIUM
Misano (Italy) Sunday 21st June: Ducati Xerox riders Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga rode a stressful 24–lap first race at the Misano World Circuit today, in which “flag-to-flag” rules were implemented due to the wet track conditions at the race start. An impressive race from Fabrizio and his Ducati 1198, finishing in third, on the podium for the first time in Misano, while teammate Haga also made up many positions to cross the line in fifth. In Race 2 Fabrizio narrowly missed out on the win, to conclude in second just 0.06 of a second behind Rea (Honda) and less than half a second in front of team-mate Haga.
Despite no win today, with the podiums celebrated by Michel, Noriyuki and privateer Shane Byrne, Ducati reaches a milestone: the two podiums scored in Race 2 signify the 700th and 701st visit by a Ducati rider to the Superbike podium since the championship began. At the same time, Noriyuki today celebrated his 99th Superbike podium.
A frenetic Race 1 ensued when the race was declared wet but the track quickly began to dry, meaning that the Superbike teams put into practice the “flag-to-flag” procedure, with riders able to change bikes, from a wet to a dry set-up, at any point they chose during the race. The majority of the riders on track rode on rain tires for the first half of the race before making the swap, including Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki, who came in during lap 10, and Michel in lap 13. Noriyuki lost a few seconds in making the changeover and then both Ducati men admitted that it took a few laps to find feeling with their 1198 machines on the drying surface but they were soon comfortable enough to begin their progression through the field, making up many positions in the latter stages of the race.
Race 2 was dry from start to finish and turned out to be a spectacular three-way battle for the win. Haga made a flying start to take the lead in the opening laps before soon losing the advantage to Jonathan Rea (Honda). In the subsequent laps it was the Ducati Xerox team-mates Noriyuki and Michel who battled it out between themselves for second place with Rea just ahead of them. In the sixteenth lap Michel made a move from second position, got past Jonathan and continued to command the race until the very last lap when Rea manoeuvred his way back past the Italian rider, leaving Fabrizio and Haga to come home in second and third
The championship leader remains Noriyuki Haga who, after the first eight rounds of the championship, has accumulated 292 points, to the 244 points held by current second-placed rider Ben Spies. Michel Fabrizio chases, just behind Ben with 237 points. Ducati continues to lead the manufacturers championship with 351 points ahead of Yamaha (287 points).
Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 – 3rd, Race 2 – 2nd)
“I did my best to stick with Ben in Race 1 but I think the fact that he changed from wet to dry set-up one or two laps before me made the difference, because I took a few laps to get feeling in the dry and then it was too late to catch him or Shane. In the last lap Smrz was right there on my tail and I went wide at one point but luckily he didn’t get past me and I finished third. In the second race I struggled a little with the front tire and it seemed that today Rea’s Honda had a little something over us in its acceleration. It’s a shame it couldn’t be another win but, with two podiums today, I’m very happy, it’s my best ever result at this track and I know I did all I could so you can’t ask for more than that. I’ve just a few points behind Ben again now so, yes, I can’t help thinking about the title but in order to be a serious contender I know I need to remain consistent and clock up some race wins from here on in.”
Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 – 5th, Race 2 – 3rd)
“I am a bit disappointed with how Race 1 turned out. While on the wet set-up I was having all kinds of problems with the rear tire that was sliding all over the place compared to other riders out there so I lost some positions before I came in to change bikes. Then I went back out on an intermediate/slick tire combination that was perhaps not so suitable because in the final laps I was finding it difficult to maintain my pace and couldn’t push as I wanted to. Race 2 went much better, I got a great start but once Johnny, and then Michel, came past me it was hard to keep pace; maybe because they are so much younger than I am! Joking aside, I made good points all things considered, especially seeing as this has never been my favourite track, and now I’m looking forward to the next round at Donington where I’ve done well over the years.”
XAVIER SIMEON (DUCATI XEROX JUNIOR TEAM) FINISHES SECOND AND MOVES INTO LEAD. DANIELE BERETTA EIGHTH
Misano World Circuit – Misano Adriatico (Italy), Sunday 21st June 2009 – Xavier Simeon finished today’s fourth round of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup at Misano as runner-up and, with this result, the Belgian rider now holds the championship lead. Team-mate Beretta made a good recovery to finish in eighth.
Heavy rain persisted for the first half of the morning and meant that all riders completed the warm-up on rain tires. Xavier made a good start in the race but then took a fall almost immediately, without causing himself or his bike damage. At the same time a serious accident on the start line, fortunately without grave consequences, led to a red flag and the race was postponed until late afternoon. Starting over, Xavier again made a fast getaway but contact with another rider in the first corners caused him to drop back. Simeon fought back to gain second position but at this point he had no possibility to catch runaway leader Berger. Xavier moves into first position in the classification thanks to today’s second place finish.
XAVIER SIMEON – “I am happy in a way but not totally satisfied, we’ve been lucky today. This morning I came off in the pouring rain but the red flag meant that I was able to line up for the restarted race in the afternoon. I made a strong start but at least one rider made contact with me and nearly caused me to crash. Some of the guys got back onto the track ahead of me, without much regard to those coming up behind, another obstacle that hindered me further. My fast pace meant I was able to get past many of my rivals but once I moved into second place I realised that Berger was too far ahead for me to be able to catch him. This is my fourth consecutive second place finish and I now lead the championship, but at Donington I want to celebrate a win.”
Daniele Beretta didn’t get off the linea s quickly as Simeon and was also caught up in the confusion of the opening lap but the young Italian nonetheless knew how to ride the race, keeping up a very fast pace in order to move through the field from fifteenth to eighth position.
DANIELE BERETTA – “This morning it was raining very heavily and it was a relief to be able to run the race this afternoon in the sun instead. After the start there was total chaos and, in order to keep from falling, I had to slow down and in doing so lost contact with the frontrunners. But I then kept up the pace and was able to pass several riders. To finish eighth isn’t the best results but I am fairly happy seeing how I struggled in qualifying.”
Race result:
1.M.M.Berger (Honda) in 15m07.296 in an average of 150,913 km/h; 2.Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) 5.596s; 3.S.Barrier (Yamaha) 8.647s; 4.C.Corti (Suzuki) 8.907s…8.Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) 13.509s…
Classification:
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Chaotic Superbike racing at Misano
The blistering heat that opened the eighth round in the Superbike World Championship, remained absent for the rest of the Misano event as wet conditions and crashes dominated at track today.
Haslam suffered a crash in the early minutes of the wet warm-up session, which left him with minimum time to familiarise himself with the tricky wet track conditions.
The first Superbike race was declared wet, but riders were soon confounded by changing weather conditions that caused rapid drying of the track. For the first time this season the new flag-to-flag rule – which allows riders to return to the garage and switch machines – came into action in the ninth lap of the race.
In the chaos that followed the changing of machines, Haslam – still out on wet tires – climbed from his tenth position on the grid to a fourth place, but lost valuable seconds on every lap to the guys already out on dry tires. Haslam returned to the garage to change machines on the 18th lap, but struggled to make up for lost time in the remaining six laps of the race. One of the first riders to change machines, Ben Spies, took the win in the first Misano race, while Haslam finished 12th.
The second race was undertaken in dry weather conditions. Despite issues with the electronics of his bike, Leon Haslam managed to take an eighth place and took valuable points home for the team.
Leon Haslam, Race 1-12th, Race 2-8th:
“I had an issue with the front end of my machine in the first race. I stayed out long on the wet tires, got into fourth position, and then obviously stayed out for too long. When I went into the pit I only had four laps remaining, so I should have returned to pit four or five laps earlier. That was my own mistake. In the second race there was something wrong when the engine kept pushing me in and I kept losing the front. When the engine was good and the electronics were good, the lap times were as quick as anyone, but for seventy percent of the race the engine was just pushing me in so I really struggled.”
Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager:
“The first race was difficult for everyone to know what was going on with the new flag-to-flag rule. It didnt really work out, the track dried quicker than we thought it had and Leon returned to the pit too late and failed to hold on to his fourth place. That was areal pity. In the second race, his start was pretty fine, as were his lap times. But he struggled with the electronics of his machine which made it hard to push any further. We have to work on this for the next race in Donington.”
West takes seventh in Misano, Vizziello eleventh
The Misano round is normally one of the hottest events on the World Supersport calendar, but this year it was the rain that dominated the eighth round of the Championship.
The tricky wet conditions caused a lack of grip at the track, resulting in a series of crashes in the warm up session. Despite his crash in the third minute, West managed to master the tricky circumstances at the 4.226km Misano track and held a spot in the top of the time sheets for the duration of the wet session.
While qualifying and warm-up were undertaken in the wet, the conditions changed once again in the afternoon and the 22-lap Supersport race got underway on a dry track. Just six laps in, the race had to be red flagged following a couple of crashes that left an oil spill at the track. At the drop of the red flag, West found himself in sixth position, followed by Gianluca Vizziello in thirteen.
West took a seventh position at the final flag in the aggregated Misano Supersport race – in which no less than 13 riders retired. The Australian took six valuable championship points home and moves up to a fifth place in the standings, while teammate Gianluca Vizziello – currently 18th in the standings – equalled his best performance for the team to date, and finished eleventh in today’s race.
Anthony West, 7th:
“It has been a strange weekend for me. I crashed twice trying to do the best I can with the bike. I am not happy with the race results. I did the best I could with the package I had this weekend, but it just wasn’t good enough. I need to be at the front. We have made some small improvements over the last race, but still have a lot of work to do. I hope we can improve the bike for Donington and set some better results there.”
Gianluca Vizziello, 11th:
“I had a good start, but had some problems with the acceleration of my bike. Halfway into the race I also got problems with my front tire. It was not possible to push myself forward on that tire. I am disappointed, even though my result is not that bad. We just need to concentrate improving the front end of the machine.”
Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager:
“We were expecting more from Anthony, and I think he expected more from himself as well, but It didn’t really work out the way we wanted. He took some points home, but it is far away from where we would like to be. Vizziello took an eleventh position today, which is pretty good for him. We need to keep working, we have made a step in the right direction this weekend, but is hard to catch up when you’re too far behind. Hopefully we can improve more for the next race.”
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Rea Takes Breakthrough Win In World Superbike
Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) had to wait until the second race of the day to take his first win in World Superbike, but it was worth the wait as the young rider from Northern Ireland held off the two factory Ducati machines at their home circuit. It was also Honda’s first win this season in WSB.
The 22-year-old rider could well have had two podium visits today, but because of unseasonable local weather Rea ended up having a very dramatic first race, which was started in wet conditions. The track dried as the race went on, making this the first race ever in WSB history to see new flag-to-flag rules brought into play.
Rea, who had qualified a career best second, was forced to start from the back of the grid and face a ride-through after getting a lift back to the pitlane from Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) when his machine developed a glitch and stopped on the track, as well as having a dispute with the officials when trying to exit pitlane. He took his ride through after fighting into the leading places in the wet, and then he had to come in once more to change to a machine with a dry set-up, losing more time.
Rea still finished a remarkable seventh, and was the first Honda rider home in race one, despite all his issues. Along with most of his team-mates, Rea has now swapped to Öhlins suspension, which he tested for the first time at Magny-Cours only a few days ago.
In race two Rea was in the mix from the start, and took the lead on lap four, relinquishing it in the latter stages and then probing the defences of Michel Fabrizio before making a decisive pass early in the final lap and holding on for an advantage of 0.063 seconds.
Rea’s team-mate Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) was not too disappointed with 11th in the opener, and was not helped by his machine stalling when changing bikes as the track dried out, an issue that also affected Rea on his changeover. Checa was much more effective in race two, finishing fifth after qualifying on row two. He was only 4.460 seconds from Rea.
Kiyonari was eighth on the grid but he did not finish the first race after a near highside in the damp conditions caused Rea to collide with him, bending his gear change lever. In the second 24-lap race he was14th.
Matthieu Lagrive (Honda Althea CBR1000RR) used all his knowledge of endurance racing to manage his race strategy well in race one and take a top ten. He finished 21st in race two, one place ahead of his qualifying position in his first Superbike race for his team.
Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR) struggled to 12th and 10th in each race, not feeling as confident in this race as he had in other rounds. John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR) qualified 26th, but only rode on Friday, due to his still-healing hip injury swelling up. He is expecting to ride with a greater level of fitness at the next round in Donington.
Vittorio Iannuzzo (Squadra Corse Italia Honda CBR1000RR) qualified 27th and finished 20th in race one, 24th in the dry race two.
After yet another dramatic day of racing, Rea consolidated fourth position in the championship on 167 points, with Noriyuki Haga on 292, race one winner Spies on 244 and Fabrizio on 237.
WSS Report
Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) recovered from an eighth place grid start and a crash in the wet morning warm-up to finish second in the aggregate 22-lap World Supersport race at Misano.
The race was halted and restarted before half distance because of an oil spill, with Laverty already in the lead, thanks to an incredible display of speed in the early laps. He was not quite able to stick close enough to the eventual race winner Cal Crutchlow on the final lap to maintain his narrow advantage after the first leg. He lost out in another classic fight with his old British Supersport rival by only 0.263 seconds, having spun up the rear tire on the final corner, spoiling his planned his pass down the straight.
Mark Aitchison (Althea Honda CBR600RR) was seventh in practice but rode well in each leg to finish fifth and hold off the resurgent Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR), who ended his two-part race seventh, having qualified 6th.
Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) was leading the first leg of the race when he fell at high speed, while his fellow third row qualifier and team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) fell shortly afterwards, and was unable to join the re-started race because he did not get back to pitlane with his fallen bike in time.
Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) had a positive day, after qualifying 16th on Saturday and then falling in the wet morning warm-up, taking his first career top ten in a good day for the Parkalgar squad. Gianluca Vizziello (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR) improved his practice performance to go 11th, equalling his best result of 2009 so far. New rider Flavio Gentile (Althea Honda CBR600RR) made a vast improvement on his 21st place in qualifying by finishing 12th in his home race.
In the overall championship fifth, Laverty lost five points to Crutchlow, but with Sofuoglu’s bad luck striking, Laverty is now 38 points ahead of the 2007 Champion. In the Manufacturers’ Standings, Honda leads by 18 points.
The ninth round of the 14-round series takes place at Donington Park, in the UK, between 26 and 28 June.
World Superbike riders quotes:
Jonathan Rea:
“In race two I got into a good rhythm at the start and when the Ducatis came past I realized they could not clear off, so I settle behind them and found out where they were strong. With five or six laps to go I figured out where I could make some passes, and I got right onto Michel, and it was easy following him. I thought he pace of the race would be faster than it was. We have only had our new suspension for five days. I really want thank the rest of the team because they have worked really well and the motivation of the team is good, so it seems to be that anything that we need to find a way forward we get it. In race one, to start from the back of the grid, have a ride through penalty, stall the bike on the changeover and eventually finished seventh? If I look at the times I did without all the other things happening we would have won race one as well, which is a testament to how hard the team has been working. Donington next and I can’t wait.”
Leon Haslam:
“I had an issue with the front end in the first race. I stayed out quite long on the wet tires, got into fourth position, and then obviously stayed out for too long. When I went into the pit I only had four laps remaining, so I should have returned to pit four or five laps earlier. That was my own mistake. In the second race there was something wrong when the engine kept pushing me in and I kept losing the front. When the engine was good and the electronics were good, the lap times were as quick as anyone, but for seventy percent of the race the engine was just pushing me into the corners, so I really struggled.”
Carlos Checa:
“I am actually quite positive, even though we did not have the perfect set-up and had some problems with movement in the rear of the bike. With those problems, I was struggling to match the pace of Jonathan and the two Ducatis. It’s been a very busy weekend with new suspension in the bike and we had a few things that we wanted to test this morning. However, the wet conditions made that impossible. The considering the big changes we have been working with this weekend, I think we can take a lot of positives to Donington next weekend.”
Ryuichi Kiyonari:
“The first race was difficult with the first lap crash. I had a big high-side but stayed on the bike and Jonathan hit me, although it was not his fault. My gearshift was broken and there was some engine damage so I could not continue past the first lap. In race two, things were OK, but I did not have the same feeling that I had on Saturday and could not keep the lap times. The setting is definitely coming better though and with small steps we are improving. I hope at Donington, things will be even better because I like it there. After that, we have a test in Imola with more improvement I hope.”
John Hopkins:
“After yesterday’s session I am feeling really sore. I got some painkillers before the session, but I think I just pushed it a bit too much. I am breaking away the scar tissue at the moment. It is just better for me to take it easy today and concentrate on tomorrow. I will be doing the warm up and then see what we can do for the race. This weekend for me is important to get the strength in my leg back up and to get ready for the next race at Donington.”
Matthieu Lagrive:
“I’m very happy for my first race today. It was tough because in the first curve I went out on the gravel and I rejoined the race in the last position. Starting from the first few laps I pushed very hard and I found a very good pace. I was able to overtake a lot of riders and only when the track became dry I decided to re-enter the box to change the bike and to use the second one, and my team decided to use intermediate tires. I took a few laps to understand how my second bike was working but I gained a lot of confidence very quickly and it was very nice to overtake riders like Biaggi and Checa and to reach tenth position in my first Superbike race. Unfortunately my second race was difficult because my bike setting was not perfect for a race on a track completely dry.”
WSS Rider Quotes:
Eugene Laverty:
“I am still reasonably happy with second. In the first half of the race I sliced through from a bad start and 13th to the lead in just three laps. Then in the delay, we made a small change to my bike and it worked very well. In the second half it was much easier to follow Cal Crutchlow, so much so that when sitting behind him I thought I was being held up but when I took the lead I couldn’t get away. He passed me again and I thought I’d go for plan ‘B’ which was to get into the final corner and drive out to challenge Cal at the line. I had deliberately held back at that corner in previous laps because I was quicker than him there. Then on the last corner I got in well but got on the gas very early, I may have been too eager, and the rear wheel simply spun up.”
Kenan Sofuoglu:
“It’s been a bad weekend for us and our championship. We needed to test these new suspension components but there has just been too much rain this weekend. We had to guess at the dry set-up for the race but I knew quite early that it was not quite right. The rear was spinning way too much on the corner exit and I had some problems getting past Fujiwara. When I finally got through, I had to push hard to reach the others and I crashed.”
Andrew Pitt:
“There is simply no point running around for fifth and sixth place finishes, which we’ve had for the last few races. I need to start winning again and that was all that was in my mind today. The problem is that we’ve been testing new suspension and had very little dry track time. Yesterday’s qualifying was difficult but my start was pretty good and I was just pushing for the win and we know what happened. It was fast enough and my neck and shoulder are a little sore but I’ll be OK again by next weekend.”
Anthony West:
“It has been a strange weekend for me. I crashed twice trying to do the best I can with the bike, and I am not really happy with the race results. I did the best I could with the package I had this weekend, but it just wasn’t good enough. I need to be at the front. We have made some small improvements over the last race, but still have a lot of work to do. I hope we can improve the bike for Donington and get some better results there.”
Gianluca Vizziello:
“I had a good start, but had some problems with the acceleration of my bike. Halfway through the race I got into problems with my front tire. It was not possible to push myself forward on that tire. I am disappointed, even though my result is not that bad. We just need to concentrate improving the front end of the machine.”
Mark Aitchison:
“Today the race was a little bit difficult for me because we struggled a lot with grip. Unfortunately I lost the front group a bit in the first sector of the race and in the second sector it was almost the similar story with the grip of the tires. We could not understand how to solve this problem to give me a good feeling on the tires and as a consequence I could not push very hard.”
Miguel Praia:
“Finally we have got into the top 10, this is my best ever race result since joining the World Championship and I am very happy. My Parkalgar Honda is fantastic and the team did a mega job to get me out in the race with such a good set-up after a crash in warm-up.”
Gianluca Vizziello:
“I had a good start, but had some problems with the acceleration of my bike. Halfway through the race I got into problems with my front tire. It was not possible to push myself forward on that tire. I am disappointed, even though my result is not that bad. We just need to concentrate improving the front end of the machine.”
Flavio Gentile:
“I’m quite happy with today’s race. My first start was very bad and so I was forced to push extremely hard from the beginning to reach the riders in front of me. My second start was better and I found a good race pace very quickly.”
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Super sixth for Yukio in difficult conditions
Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama endured difficult conditions in the rain-affected first race in Misano, but ended the 24-lapper with a superb sixth place. He opted for a harder rear spring in race two, but it didn’t work as well as he had expected and he finished in 11th position.
Fonsi Nieto ended with a 18th in race one, but improved to 12th in race two.
Ben Spies (Yamaha) won the rain-affected first 24-lapper, with Shane Byrne (Ducati) second and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third. Race two started in the dry and, apart from a few spots of rain, continued to remain a dry race. Jonathan Rea (Honda) had a race long battle with Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), but held them both off to record his maiden WSBK victory.
Yukio
That was a difficult weekend and today was very tricky because of the changing conditions in the first race. I felt fairly comfortable for the first three or so laps, but the track dried so quickly so, after a few more laps, we decided to pull in and change bikes. But my second bike had a half dry/half wet setting and my feeling with it was not so good. I pushed as hard as I could, especially when I was fighting with Nori, but I had to settle for sixth place. I made a mistake by choosing a harder rear spring in race two and wasn’t able to pick up the pace. Sorry to my team. Overall though, I found a good feeling with my bike this weekend, but I am disappointed not to get the results I expected.
Fonsi
I started with full wets, but the track dried very quickly and I didn’t have any confidence with the grip. We changed bikes and I think I progressed quite well, but I saw a blue flag and thought some really fast rider was going to pass, so I pulled over. But it was just the guys behind me and they all went past and I had lost three or so places! I wasn’t happy about this and by the time I recovered, it was too late. I made a good start in the second race and found a good pace. The bike’s balance felt good, but towards the end of the race I began to have problems with the front brake. I had a good battle with Max (Biaggi) and finished with a positive feeling.
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Misano Proves Hard To Master For Superbike Pairing
Broc Parkes and Jamie Hacking each had separate issues at Misano on raceday and as a consequence neither rider was able to take a points scoring finish, despite occasional bright showings in practice. The first 24-lap race of the day saw the first use of the flag-to-flag rules in World Superbike, as the race started out on a wet track but got drier as the time went on, meaning almost every rider changed their machine in the middle of the race. Hacking was 16th in the opener, and Parkes 17th.
In the second race, run in dry conditions throughout, the team’s riders could not replicate or improve their best lap times from practice, and thus Parkes was disappointed in finishing 17th again; Hacking even more so to be 22nd.
In the championship chase Parkes remains 18th and Hacking 20th.
Broc Parkes: “It’s been a mixed bag kind of weekend for me. I was happy with Friday’s fifth place but we struggled in Superpole to get a flying lap in and I missed sector two for the first time this year. The rain in race one obviously made conditions really difficult and we chose the wrong tire, so I really struggled with grip as it dried up. By the time I changed tires it was too late to make up any major ground. In race two I got a bad start and I still didn’t feel like we had the right direction on the bike so really struggled in the corners. We tried so many things over the weekend but with little improvement. Battling in 17th place is really disappointing for me and the team so I can only hope that we have a better race in Donington.”
Jamie Hacking: “In the first race I wasn’t clear on the rules regarding the tires as in the States the tires you start on are the one’s you finish on so I didn’t see the board telling me to pit until it was too late. That was really disappointing as I felt we could finish at least in the top ten. In race two I got a decent start but I tried to go a bit steady into the corners when it was crowded, so I didn’t make the same mistake as in Miller. I lost some places so I was pushing hard and unfortunately ran into the back of someone later on and went off track. I was trailing in last and I could move only a few places forward. I’m really disappointed for the team and for myself and I just hope that I can make up some ground at the Donington race.”
Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R Riders In The Top Six
An aggregate World Supersport race at Misano saw both Joan Lascorz and Katsuaki Fujiwara finish strongly, with Joan fourth and Katsuaki sixth. Fujiwara was running in a podium place until the race was stopped due to an oil spill, and despite running at a high pace during the restart he lost places in turn one of the second leg, and was unable to get back into terms with the leading riders.
Lascorz was one of those riders in the second leg top group, forming part of a four rider battle that became two fights for the top places on the track, although the results on aggregate proved to be different.
With morning practice proving wet, Lascorz, like many of his peers, slid off but was unhurt. He rallied well in the races, but had a lot to do to make up for a qualifying place of tenth.
In the championship Lascorz made good ground with his third consecutive fourth place finish, and indeed he sits fourth in the championship, with 86 points.
Katsuaki moved up two places today, and is only one point from a top ten ranking, with 39 points to his credit.
Joan Lascorz: “I was running well in the second leg of the race, for a time at least. We decided to put in a soft tire for the second leg of the race, so that we could make up some places in the aggregate, then try to manage the tire. We ended the race fourth and some of our main championship rivals didn’t finish, but I could not go faster than Roccoli to get the podium.”
Katsuaki Fujiwara: “We had a really good chance to get on the podium but it slipped away. My starts were not so bad in each half of the race but when I got the first corner my braking adjuster was gone and I had to pump the brakes and ran wide in the corner. Our race – or races – were good today but it would have been great to get that podium.”
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RUBEN LEADS, THEN LOSES OUT IN THE DRY
The first race at Misano today saw the riders line up on a soaking wet track with all of them on full wet tires. But with conditions rapidly changing, and the prospect of World Superbike’s first ever ‘flag-to-flag’ race in the offing, all the teams had spare bikes, shod with slicks, at the ready in the pit-lane for a changeover when the track dried out.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Ruben Xaus took advantage of the tricky conditions and charged his way up from 18th on the grid to first place and led the race with just seven laps to go. But when he changed bikes, he was adjudged to have exceeded the pit-lane speed limit and he was given a ‘ride-through’ penalty. He fought his way back into the race and ended 14th. Troy’s race was over before he could even start. An electronic problem on the warm-up lap caused a highside and he crashed out, fortunately without doing further damage to his injured right shoulder. Ben Spies (Yamaha) won the 24-lapper, with Shane Byrne (Ducati) second and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third.
Race two started in the dry and, apart from a few spots of rain, continued to remain a dry race. Ruben finished just out of the points in 16th, but ended lapping in similar times to the leaders. Troy had inconsistency problems with his S 1000 RR, but kept going as hard as he could and ended 19th. Jonathan Rea (Honda) had a race long battle with Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), but held them both off to record his maiden WSBK victory.
Ruben – Race 1: 14th, Race 2: 16th
It felt really good leading the race, knowing that I was beating all the guys who were all on exactly the same tires as me. I felt comfortable in the damp conditions and if the track had stayed wet, maybe we could’ve done something that would’ve surprised everybody. But unfortunately for me, the track dried and we all had to come in and jump on to our spare bikes – with dry tires. Our pit box is quite close to the pit-lane exit, so I didn’t think I had gone faster than the limit, but I got a ride-though penalty and that was enough for us to lose a top place. It’s always difficult knowing when to come in and change bikes, but this was a first for all of us and something we’ll have to get used to. In race two, I decided to adapt my riding style to the bike and I learnt a lot in that race and was happy because, at the end, I was lapping as quickly as the top guys.
Troy – Race 1: DNS, Race 2: 19th
Well that was a day to forget for me and a shame because Friday had gone so well and I felt that we were getting somewhere. I was highsided on the warm-up lap and we’re not sure why, but we think it was some sort of electronics problem. I didn’t open the throttle dramatically, but suddenly the bike just went faster and spat me off. Luckily I didn’t do any further harm to my shoulder, but my race was over. In race two, the bike felt kind of inconsistent and I wasn’t confident what it was going to do every time I entered or exited the corners. I could have pulled in, but I kept going because I knew that every lap I stayed out would give the team more information to work with. It’s been a frustrating day for me and the team, but I am sure we will have a better weekend in Donington.
Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
After the positive start on Friday, and all the changes, we were hoping for better results – especially as the technical aspects were going in the right direction. Our Superpole was not so successful and we were a bit confused in the first race. We have to find the reason for Troy’s crash, but we will do so. We had some exciting moments when Ruben was leading, but maybe we made a tactical mistake by changing bikes a bit too late. It was unfortunate that Ruben got a ride-thorough for speeding in pit-lane because that ruined what could’ve been a good result.
Race two was disappointing, but at the end of it we saw that Ruben could lap as fast as the front guys. We’re not sure why Troy struggled with the behaviour of his bike, but it’s something that we will have to investigate. We didn’t detect any problems in practice, but we’ll analyse all the data and make the necessary changes to carry on improving.
