Yamaha kicking ass and taking names | World SBK
- From: 'the Wire' | Published: June 28th, 2009 - 5:18 pm
Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies made it a clean sweep at Donington today, blowing away the competition to take both races with decisive and well earned wins. Race one saw the American rider take an early lead, closely followed by Aprilia rider Max Biaggi. No matter how hard Biaggi tried he was unable to close the final gap to challenge Spies and settled for second at the flag. Race two saw Spies again take an early lead, repeating the performance of Miller as he gained nearly a second a lap as he pulled away until he had over a 7.4 second advantage. He ran a lonely race at the front to claim his second win of the day, a separate class to the following pack.
Team-mate Tom Sykes had a less than perfect start to the first of his home races. Coming in hot to the hairpin on the ninth lap he braked hard over the bumpy surface and lost the front of the bike, crashing out. Race two saw a good start from the British rider who despite having issues with the front brakes managed to lay down consistent fast lap after lap, towards the end of the race he was the fastest man on the circuit and the only one to touch under the 1.32 mark in the closing stages. As others crashed out and Sykes rode faster he made it to fifth position at the flag.
After a serious crash ruled Haga out of race two, the day’s wins brings Ben Spies up to 294 points in the championship, now just 14 points from the top. Tom Sykes takes 11 points from his second race, keeping him in seventh position, just 14 points from nearest rival Max Biaggi.
Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st, 1st)
“it was a picture perfect weekend. It was a tough race, Max was there the whole time but we were able to do quick laps to stay ahead, the last three laps I rode as hard as I could just to make sure of the win. In the second race I knew Nori had a big crash and I hope he’s ok. It’s not the way we want to win it but you have to take the points when you can. It was a good second race for us though. The track was hot and a bit slick so we made some changes to the bike which made it better from race one. It was a good job for Leon, getting on the podium at his home round was great, I know how that feels. It was tough being out on my own, I had to focus lap to lap to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes. I can’t thank the Yamaha guys enough we changed a lot of things around and they came and delivered me two really good bikes to win on.”
Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (DNF, 5th)
“I found a good race setting in warm up this morning and was ready for the first race. I was very confident with my pace in the race but frustrated with my row three start. I was just breaking into a rhythm and unfortunately arrived into the last corner just a bit too hot and lost the front over the bumps, I couldn’t believe it as it was my first DNF of the year so I was looking to improve in race two. I had big issues with a lack of braking which held me up. I’m really gutted as I think it cost me a podium, and capped off a bad weekend for the points. I really thought we could come away from the weekend in fifth. On the plus side I think we’ve seen some more of the old Tom Sykes this weekend, consistent in practice and qualifying and fast and consistent in race two. I’m hoping to take this to Brno and make it work there.”
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“Myself and the team want express our best wishes for Nori, we hope to see him back racing soon. The weekend has been really successful for us, a double win, Superpole and valuable championship points. We have reduced the gap down to 14 points. Ben rode incredibly well in both races, he was faultless all weekend in every session. Tom definitely got his confidence back on the bike which was really important for us, and only missed the podium by a few tenths of a second. We go to Imola now to learn the circuit and to prepare for the next race in Brno. A big thank you to the team who have worked very hard to make our weekend’s racing success possible.”
Home run as Crutchlow cleans up at Donington
Yamaha World Supersport rider Cal Crutchlow made sure the British fans got what they came for today as he aced the World Supersport race, leading from the fourth lap till the chequered flag. The win never looked in doubt as Crutchlow laid down lap after lap with a consistently fast race pace. He takes away with him not only the fastest lap of the race with a record of 1’32.449 but also the Best lap record from earlier in the weekend with a 1’31.701. Arch rival for the championship Eugene Laverty fell early in the race, and although he rejoined could not manage better than fifth at the end.
Crutchlow’s team-mate Fabien Foret had put his head down to work hard from his less than perfect grid position and had managed to battle up to fifth spot when three laps from the end a technical failure resulted in the Frenchman having to retire from the race, tantalizingly close to the finish.
Crutchlow leaves Donington having extended his championship lead to 185 points, 28 points ahead of rival Laverty as they head to the last race in Brno before the summer break. Foret remains in seventh position in the standings on 63 points, 12 points behind sixth place rider Anthony West.
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (1st)
“it was great to come here in front of the home fans at Donington. I thought we could have a good go between me and Eugene but it wasn’t to be, unfortunately he fell off. All credit to him for getting back up to fifth. It was a very hard race for me, it’s pretty mentally challenging when you’re out there on your own. It was one of those races where you just try to keep your composure and reel the laps off. All credit to Yamaha they put a fantastic package in front of me this weekend. I got injured in the first lap of free practice which didn’t make it easy for us but we’ve done a good job in the end!”
Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (DNF)
“What a frustrating day for me! I didn’t have the best position to start from on the grid but I put my head down and worked really hard to work through some of the guys. When I got to fifth I could see the gap between myself and Sofuoglu was too big to close so I just focused on putting in fast consistent laps. Unfortunately I developed a problem just a few laps from the end and there was nothing I could do. I’m thinking about Brno now and hoping to have a better race day.”
Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager
“It was again a spectacular race of course although very different from Misano. I think for Cal it was hard to know that Eugene had crashed, although he did come back to get fifth, giving Cal a 28 point lead in the standings which is fantastic. We are glad that Eugene is not injured but the bigger difference does make our lives a bit easier. It’s a pity that Fabien suffered from a technical fault, the bike stopped which is tough as he was going well in fifth and it would have been good to bring both riders home. A Big thank you to the team who have worked really hard this weekend as always to make it possible for Cal to go out and win.”
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Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) pulled off another amazing double triumph in the ninth round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship in front of 61,000 spectators at Donington Park. The Texan has now reduced the 48 point gap at the top of the table to 14 from Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), who crashed in race 2, picking up a broken vertebra in the process. Haga’s Italian team-mate Michel Fabrizio was third in race 2 and is now 51 points behind. Aprilia had a good first race, with Max Biaggi second at the finish, while the best of the numerous British platoon present at Donington was Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda), who finished second to Spies in race 2.
SBK Race 1
Spies continued to steamroller his way to the wins in World Superbike as he took his ninth victory of the year in the first race. After setting his eighth pole in qualifying, the Texan rider dominated the 23-lap race but was shadowed all the way by Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing). The Italian ran faultlessly in second until the final lap, when Ben upped the ante to power to the chequered flag, but Biaggi also encountered a fuel problem a couple of hundred metres from the flag and risked losing out on second. This was Biaggi’s first podium since Qatar. Third went to points leader Haga, who limited the damage in a race where he was not in a position to challenge for the win. In the all-British battle for fourth place, Haslam got the better of Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati). Aprilia’s excellent performance was completed by a sixth place for Shinya Nakano. Home idol and Misano winner Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) could only finish in seventh, ahead of John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda). Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) had a gear change problem and could only finish 12th, while Ruben Xaus scored one point for BMW.
Ben Spies: “It was a tough race for us, Max was there the whole time and we were both able to do quick laps. I got a bit of a gap then made a couple of mistakes and he got back on me. The last three laps I rode as hard as I could, we got down to the 30s, then I couldn’t hear Max coming into the chicane on the last lap so knew something was wrong and I took the last corners easy. We can’t be too conservative now, we have to claw back and get a whole lot of points in a couple of races.”
Max Biaggi: “I am very happy with this result after a very hard decision we made in free practice and qualifying. Yesterday we found a way to go fast and we made the right choice in tires and the balance was correct. In the warm-up we had some problems but for the race we fixed most of them. Just on the last lap at the last chicane we had some trouble, I don’t know what, the bike just stopped and then went back again in the last few metres before the flag. I think I deserved second!”
Noriyuki Haga: “I tried to do my best but the front two guys were very fast. I tried to catch up for the victory but I had to settle for third position. Of course during the laps I tried to push and catch them up but it was quite difficult. Our package was quite different but for the next race we try to change something to improve the riding of the bike.”
Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 34’57.230 (158,831 kph); 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 7.156; 3. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 10.968; 4. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 18.843; 5. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 19.125; 6. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 21.286; 7. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 23.644; 8. Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 32.849; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 32.904; 10. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 33.192; 11. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 34.535; 12. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 35.093; 13. Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 35.441; 14. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 39.034; 15. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 41.067; 16. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 46.4
SBK Race 2
Spies also dominated the second race, but this time without any pressure from his rivals. The Yamaha man immediately pulled away at the start to pick up a seven second lead, which he administered easily to pick up his tenth win of the year. Spies’ double coincided with a disaster for Haga, who crashed out of second place on lap 5 while trying to make up ground on the leader. The Japanese rider was taken to hospital in Derby with a fractured vertebra and other injuries. Race 2 saw a British rider on the podium, thanks to Haslam, who held off Fabrizio. With the outcome of this race, the Italian keeps alive his title chances. Byrne put on another good show, finishing fourth ahead of fellow Brit Tom Sykes. Xaus again scored points for BMW, this time with a positive ninth place. Both Aprilia riders crashed out, Biaggi suffering a hairline crack in his right foot in the process, but remounting to finish 21st, while John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda) did not make it to the start of race 2, the still-injured American totally exhausted after his race 1 efforts.
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.”
Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 35’14.788 (157,512 kph); 2. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 6.622; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.816; 4. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 7.349; 5. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 8.145; 6. Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 13.463; 7. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 15.751; 8. Ellison J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 16.837; 9. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 22.891; 10. Andrews S. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 30.347; 11. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 30.622;12. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 31.562; 13. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 32.148; 14. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 32.607; 15. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 32.806; 16. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 34.269
Points (after 9 of 14 rounds): 1. Haga 308; 2. Spies 294; 3. Fabrizio 257; 4. Rea 177; 5. Haslam 167; 6. Biaggi 155; 7. Sykes 141; 8. Smrz 115; 9. Checa 114; 10. Byrne 113. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 383; 2. Yamaha 337; 3. Honda 273; 4. Aprilia 162; 5. Suzuki 131; 6. Bmw 70; 7. Kawasaki 47
World Supersport
Coventry man Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) had a terrific homecoming race at the Donington circuit as he shrugged off the broken ankle he picked up in qualifying to take a dominant fourth win of the year. His chief rival in the title battle Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), together with Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Provec) tried hard in the early stages, but the Irishman crashed at the Melbourne Hairpin and the Spaniard had to take second best after Crutchlow upped the pace in the final part. Laverty rejoined and worked his way back up the field from 22nd place to fifth overall. It was a great result for veteran Australian Garry McCoy, who gave Triumph its first ever podium in Supersport. Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) could only finish fourth and is now 64 points away from the top of the standings, while team-mate Andrew Pitt fared even worse to finish in tenth. Gianluca Vizziello (Stiggy Racing Honda) scored his best result of the year in seventh behind Barry Veneman (George White Ten Kate Honda).
Results: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 34’15.876 (154,981 kph); 2. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 5.391; 3. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 14.918; 4. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 22.248; 5. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 37.054; 6. Veneman B. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 39.079; 7. Vizziello G. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 39.978; 8. Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 42.733
Points (after 9 of 14 rounds): 1. Crutchlow 185; 2. Laverty 157; 3. Sofuoglu 121; 4. Lascorz 106; 5. Pitt 79; 6. West 75; 7. Foret 63; 8. Aitchison 61; 9. McCoy 55; 10. Pirro 49. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 191; 2. Yamaha 185; 3. Kawasaki 117; 4. Triumph 69; 5. Suzuki 30
Superstock 1000
After four second places, Xavier Simeon scored his first win of the season on the Xerox Ducati 1098, the Belgian increasing his lead in the championship to 11 points over his closest rival, Claudio Corti (Alstare Suzuki). The Belgian led the race from lights to flag, gradually easing off towards the end. Corti had a great race, recovering to finish second from 22nd on the grid, while Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda) also ran well, setting fastest lap in 1’33″516, and taking the final podium slot after also moving up from row 6. Fourth place went to Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini), who finished ahead of the two Frenchmen Sylvain Barrier (Garnier) and Loris Baz (MRS), both on Yamahas, and Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox) in seventh.
Results: 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 18’54.713 (153,161 kph); 2. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K91.600; 3. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 2.110; 4. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2.522; 5. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 3.433; 6. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 5.596; 7. Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 9.556; 8. Schouten R. (NED) Yamaha YZF R1 10.646
Points (after 5 of 10 rounds): 1. Simeon 105; 2. Corti 94; 3. Berger 82; 4. Fores 64; 5. Barrier 54; 6. Beretta 45; 7. Baz 33: 8. Jezek 32; 9. Magnoni 19; 10. Burrell 19. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 105: 2. Suzuki 94; 3. Honda 92; 4. Kawasaki 64; 5. Yamaha 62; 6. MV Agusta 18; 7. Aprilia 8
Superstock 600
The Superstock 600 championship battle was thrown wide-open after points leader Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno) crashed out on the second lap after being taken out by Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha) while in the lead. The Italian remounted to finish ninth, a result that allowed him to maintain his points lead. The chasing riders Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) and Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno) are now 4 and 11 points down on the leader respectively. The British rider and the Italian fought it out for the win at the end of a terrific scrap, and in the end it was Bussolotti who took the chequered flag for his first win of the year. Third place went to Frenchman Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha), while Eddi La Marra (Lorini Honda) missed a good chance by crashing out on lap 6 while in the lead of the race. The Italian recovered to finish 12th.
Results: 1. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 16’18.425 (148,022 kph); 2. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 0.213; 3. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 2.126; 4. Guittet B. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 6.948; 5. Kerschbaumer S. (AUT) Yamaha YZF R6 11.136; 6. Morelli N. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 14.695; 7. Chmielewski A. (POL) Yamaha YZF R6 14.780 8. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 16.782
Points (after 5 of 10 rounds): 1. Petrucci 82; 2. Rea 78; 3. Bussolotti 71; 4. Guarnoni 70; 5. Lonbois 64; 6. Kerschbaumer 43; 7. Guittet 40; 8. La Marra 39; 9. Litjens 38; 10. Chmielewski 30.
-from Infront
