MAXIMUM MAX!

By MICHAEL ESDAILE

WITH 10 races remaining in the 2010 HANNspree Superbike World Championship, Aprilia’s Max Biaggi appeared to have one hand already on the trophy after round eight in the summer heat of Misano on Sunday.

Biaggi went into the Misano round leading Alstare Suzuki’s Leon Haslam by 15 points after taking a double win at the US round at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah on May 31. By the end of the weekend he had stretched that to 37 points with another maximum 50 point haul from winning both races on Italy’s Adriatic Coast.

In the first race (see earlier report), Haslam had clutch and electronic problems with his GSX-R1000, struggling home in eighth place but in race two, the Englishman turned on a mighty performance to emerge from the chasing ruck to take his eleventh podium of the season and keep his and Suzuki’s Superbike World Championship hopes alive. With some urgently required engine development from Suzuki, Haslam could still be in the hunt for the world crown. The young Brit has proven very consistent all season, and the only blemish on his 2010 record came when he crashed out of the second race in the USA. That considered, it is amazing Biaggi is ‘only’ 37 points ahead in the title chase, as he has won half the races – eight of 16 – run so far this year.

The heat was on, quite literally, in the second race at Misano, with the track temperature another 7°C hotter at 47°C than it was for the first 24 lap, 101.424 km race.

Biaggi jetted away to another holeshot and again BMW’s Troy Corser dived inside to take the lead, this time at turn three. The pair touched, Biaggi bobbled wide and in a flash Carlos Checa was through on the Althea Ducati 1198R with Xerox Ducati’s Michel Fabrizio a close fourth, with Haslam fighting his way forward in fifth as they ended the first lap.

CORSER TRIES HARD

Corser kept the in-line four cylinder BMW S1000RR out front for the first six laps, working hard to score the German brand’s first Superbike World Championship win. Behind him, Checa was keen to grab his second podium of the weekend, preferably with the win, while Fabrizio desperately wanted to score a much needed win on the factory Ducati. But it turned out Biaggi was biding his time, lowering Checa’s lap record set in the first race on just the third lap as he closed on Fabrizio who in turned seemed glued to the back wheel of Checa’s privateer Ducati.

On the fourth lap, Fabrizio got by Checa, and before they had done another two kilometres, Biaggi had also nipped past Checa. A little further back, fourth placed Haslam was being monstered by Cal Crutchlow, who had lowered Biaggi’s lap record as he made his way forward on the Sterilgarda Yamaha.

In another lap, Checa had been bundled back to sixth while up front, Fabrizio was looking for a way past Corser’s BMW. He found it on the seventh lap, with Biaggi getting ahead of the BMW as well, then setting his sights on the factory Ducati man in the lead. The two Italians then engaged in a corner-to-corner duel which Biaggi won, took the lead and proceeded to edge away as Fabrizio came into range for Haslam to mount an attack as the race reached the halfway point.
By then Biaggi had stretched to a 2.5 second lead while Haslam resorted to a late braking move to get by the Xerox Ducati, which was just as fast on the Misano straights as the Alstare Suzuki.

By now Corser’s hopes of giving BMW a win had been dashed, and it was all he could do to even keep a podium position on his radar. He had elected to use the same rear Pirelli as he had in race one, the so-called C-compound, no doubt believing it would work better in the hotter conditions of race two. In fact, it proved not as good as in race one.

SOFTER IS BETTER

Biaggi, on the other hand, went with the new softer A-compound he had used in the first race, and this proved to be a winner. Haslam too went with the A-compound for race two.
By the time Haslam made it into second, Biaggi was gone – 3.8 seconds out in front and still clicking off 1m 36 lap times. Haslam tried all he knew, but made no impression on the fleeing Biaggi, who stretched his lead lap by lap until at one point he was more than eight seconds ahead, a huge lead in Superbike racing.

By holding onto second place, Haslam limited the damage in his championship chase but he had the Sterilgarda Yamaha of Cal Crutchlow on his tail, until Fabrizio removed the pressure by getting the factory Ducati ahead of the Yamaha once more.

With the chequered flag in sight, Biaggi eased off to wave to the crowd but Corser made a mistake and ran off the track, rejoining to finish tenth. He was running fifth at the time.
While Biaggi celebrated his 39th birthday by throwing his gloves, then his Suomy helmet to his fans in the grand stand, the Sterilgarda Yamaha team was left winless once again. Incredibly, the team that dominated the second half of the 2009 season and ended up winning the championship has yet to score a race win this year. Texan Ben Spies is certainly missed, and the two Brits – Crutchlow and Toseland – are clearly not up to the job, although Crutchlow came away with the lap record, 1m 36.546s.

Signaling that as far as he is concerned the championship is far from over, Haslam vowed to come back fighting at Brno in the Czech Republic on July 11.

“After the issues we’ve had this weekend (to do with the clutch and electronics) I thought that eigth in race one was probably the best we’d get this weekend,” Haslam admitted. “But, all credit to the team because they went back to a setting that we used in USA and South Africa. The bike was much better in the second race.

"Race two felt like normal and the bike felt a million times better than race one, but I’ve got so many blisters on my hands because I was trying so hard.

“I took a lap or two too long to pass Troy (Corser) and Michel (Fabrizio) in the second race and by then Max was too far ahead to catch. Max is riding well and the Aprilia is currently the package to beat but I’m confident that, as long as we all work hard, we can beat him. We do all our own development work and it’s because of all the hard work, that we are competitive.

“If Suzuki Japan wanted to give us some more help, it would be much appreciated and it would be a great benefit to us all. In the meantime, I’m going to keeping fighting for more and podiums. That was my aim before the season began, and it’s still the same now.”

For full results, click on this link: http://sbk.perugiatiming.com/pdf_frame.asp?p_Round=ROUND&p_Anno=2010&p_Manifestazione=08&p_Gara=01&p_Sessione=002&p_Stampa=CLA

BIAGGI: WIN NO. 7

By MICHAEL ESDAILE

MASSIMILIANO Biaggi took full advantage of a very small mistake from two-time Superbike World Champion Troy Corser to snatch the lead, and eventually the race win, in the first race at round eight of the HANNspree Superbike World Championship at Misano on Sunday.

Corser had been at or near the top of the lap time sheets in almost every practice and qualifying session and gave BMW its first pole position when he topped the Saturday afternoon Superpole session with a lap of 1m 35.001s at an average of 160.141 km/h. That broke Czech Ducati rider Jakub Smrz’s 1:35.435 pole record set only a year before. Not only that, but Corser was a clear half second quicker than Biaggi’s best lap on the Alitalia Aprilia RSV4.

Interestingly, it was Corser’s first pole position under the new three-step Superpole scenario introduced for the 2009 season, and his 43rd in Superbike racing, the most set by any rider in the series’ 22 year history.

From the start, Biaggi grabbed the holeshot but Corser nipped underneath the Aprilia in the second corner, took the lead and kept the BMW out front for 17 of the 24 laps. Corser later admitted he made a couple of mistakes that lap, which allowed Biaggi to snatch the lead, with Spaniard Carlos Checa also getting past the BMW man on his Althea Ducati 1198R.

The three veteran riders were never more than a few bike lengths apart the entire race, which was run in bright sunshine and 27 degrees of Italian summer heat.

While Checa probed for a way past Biaggi, Corser closed up on the BMW looking for a way back to the front, but the V4 Aprilia accelerated too fast out of the corners onto the short Misano straights for them to be able to get past there, and Biaggi was matching them on the brakes as he snatched his seventh win from the 15 SWC races run so far this year. Behind the three veterans, who handed out a riding lesson to the younger men in the field, Michel Fabrizio was a distant fourth on the first of the factory Xerox Ducatis, almost five seconds back from Biaggi, while Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli had his best race since the opening round at Phillip Island, and bagged fifth on the Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000.

That left former championship leader Leon Haslam to rue his poor getaway, which saw him stuck back in the pack until he got past Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea, then latched onto the tail of factory Ducati man Noriyuki Haga.

Eventually Haslam found a way past Haga, and pulled away slightly. At that point he was a distant sixth, but was pushed back to seventh again when Leon Camier came by on the second factory Aprilia V4. Before the race was over, Haga had also got back in front of the Englishman, who finished eighth, and saw Biaggi put a hefty 17 more points on him, extending his lead in the championship to 282.

Haslam with 250 points was still well clear of third placed points man Carlos Checa, whose second place finish saw him move back in front of Jonathan Rea, with 161 points in the title chase.

Checa also set fastest lap in the race, 1m 36.670s, which broke Haga’s year-old lap record of 1m 37.135s.

BIAGGI: GAME, SET AND MATCH

By Michael Esdaile

MASAMILIANO 'Max' Biaggi goes by the sobriquet 'Roman Emperor', but apart from a few flashes of brilliance since he joined the Superbike World Championship in 2007, he has not looked very imperious at all.

Then last year he signed up with Aprilia, the company with which he won his first World 250GP Championship in 1994. So keen was Aprilia to make sure the often temperamental Biaggi was happy in the team, his old 250GP crew was brought in to look after the bikes.

Last year Biaggi showed some of the Aprilia V4's potential with nine podium finishes, including the RSV4's maiden win in the first race at Brno.

This year Biaggi started the season stronger, the team had made some changes to the bike and for the first time in years, the normally tightly-wound Biaggi looked somewhat relaxed. He struggled a little at Phillip Island then scored a pair of wins at round two in Portimao, Portugal, another brace of wins at Monza and now he has finished the visit to North America with a second win at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.

As in the first race, Biaggi had to deal with pole sitter Carlos Checa setting the pace out front on the Althea Ducati 1198R. The Spaniard had been untouchable since setting his astounding Superpole lap but his bike stopped with the chequered flag almost in sight in the first race.

In the re-match, Checa's Ducati led but his race was over at the start of the eighth lap, gifting Biaggi the lead. And to give the Roman a further boost, Alstare Suzuki's Leon Haslam crashed on the eighth lap, handing his world championship points lead to Biaggi on a platter.

Haslam had made a poor start by his standards and was tenth after a lap but he got his head down and charged up to sixth before crashing.

With the pressure on Biaggi eased somewhat after two major rivals were sidelined, he still kept the V4 Aprilia on the gas, trimming another 2.4 seconds off the race record he had established in the first race, with a race average of 161.442 km/h.

Troy Corser held down the second spot for a while on the BMW, but was overtaken first by Leon Camier on the second Alitalia Aprilia, then Cal Crutchlow (Sterilgarda Yamaha) and finally, three laps from the end, by his old Yamaha team-mate Noriyuki Haga.

With Checa and Haslam out of it, the Alitalia Aprilia team-mates ran comfortably out front, with Biaggi stretching his advantage over Camier. Once in third, Crutchlow put on a late charge but he wasn’t able to overtake Camier.

Max’s winning advantage was 5.899 seconds, the biggest in World Superbike so far this year and Crutchlow more than a second behind Camier. It was Aprilia’s first Superbike World Championship double-podium.

Haga was fourth, with Corser completing the top five. Not far behind Corser, Sylvain Guintoli on the second Alstare Suzuki held of Checa's team-mate Shane Bryne, bringing the Suzuki home sixth to make it five manufacturers represented by the first six placegetters.

For Checa, the weekend started so promisingly but ended with heartbreak. From the pace he was setting, he had every chance of repeating the double win he scored at Miller in 2008, then racing the Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR. Had his Ducati not stopped in both races, the outcome could have been very different, not just for the results on the day, but in terms of the championship points table...

Heading to round eight at Misano, Biaggi heads the championship for the first time, 257 points to Haslam's 242. Both of them are well clear of Ten Kate Honda's Jonathan Rea (151) who had a bad weekend by his standards, scoring 14th and eighth in the two races. Despite failing to score a single point at Miller,
Carlos Checa is still fourth on the points ladder, with 141, while Haga has moved up to fifth on 135.

With five rounds and 10 races remaining, the title is still wide open, with a potential 250 points still up for grabs.

For full results, click on:
http://sbk.perugiatiming.com/pdf_frame.asp?p_S_Campionato=SBK&p_Anno=2010&p_Round=USA

BIAGGI WINS RACE ONE IN USA

ALITALIA Aprilia rider Max Biaggi won the first race at round seven of the HANNspree Superbike World Championship at Miller Motorsports Park, Utah on May 31 after battling
to stay with with pole sitter Carlos Checa up until lap 19, at which point the Spaniard retired with an electical problem in his Althea Ducati with two laps to go.

Biaggi was later to say he didn't think he would have been able to beat the Spanish veteran, such was the pace he was riding at on the 1198R Ducati.

With Checa's DNF, Biaggi swept into the lead and won comprehensively. Behind him, championship leader Leon Haslam grabbed second on the Alstare Suzuki to keep his championship hopes alive, despite Biagi taking five points off him with the win.

Haslam was almost five seconds behind Biaggi at the chequered flag. The final podium place was secured by the rejuvenated Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), who had been fastest in the morning warm-up but who expressed surprise at being on the podium.

Haga said that from the first lap the feeling he was getting from his rear tyre did not give him much confidence, then added: "But I never give up, full gas until last lap. I'm really happy for third place."

Haslam was held up when Jakub Smrz's Ducati started spewing smoke on the opening lap.

"He was leaving a lot of oil and I didn't want to follow too close. It took a fair few laps to get to the front and obviously I got gifted a second by Carlos going out, but we'll take that and if I get a bit better start in the second race, then I'll try and beat this guy next to me (Biaggi)."

But Biaggi shook his head and rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"I feel very lucky, first of all, because I think Checa deserved that race because he rode very hard. But racing's racing, sometimes these things can happen, this time was our turn, and I'm very happy."

Leon Camier was running third behind Biaggi and Checa for most of the race, but could not keep Haslam and Haga behind on the final laps. Checa set a new lap record of 1m 48.045s on lap four, 0.723 of a second under Ben Spies' one year old lap record, set in race two in 2009.

Meantime, on his way to his fifth race win of the year, Biaggi recorded a record race time of 38m 20.442s - 4.949 seconds faster over the 21 laps (103.047 km) than the previous mark, established by Ben Spies in race two last year. Biaggi's race average was 161.260 km/h compared with 160.914 km/h set by Spies in 2009.

For full results, click on: http://sbk.perugiatiming.com/pdf_frame.asp?p_S_Campionato=SBK&p_Anno=2010&p_Round=USA

CHECA PUTS ALTHEA DUCATI ON POLE

ARE WE set for a repeat of 2008 at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, host of round seven of the 2010 HANNspree Superbike World Championship?

Two years ago Spaniard Carlos Checa put the Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR on pole, then took off to win both races next day.

This year Checa has put the privately entered Althea Team Ducati 1198R on pole, recording the fastest ever Superbike lap at the Utah circuit, outside Salt Lake City. Checa scorched off a best of 1m 47.081s - more than a second faster than his 2008 pole (1m 48.193s) and also under the class lap record 1m 48.768s set by Ben Spies on his way to winning the second race last year.

It is perhaps worth noting that last year Spies qualified on pole and won both races. Will Checa be able to repeat that perfomance?

If so, it will be yet another round of the 2010 HANNspree Superbike World Championship that Yamaha will have gone winless - a far cry from last year when Ben Spies was a serious force from the outset.

"In the regular qualifying session we did a good job", stated Checa, "and then Superpole went extremely well: I was braking as late as possible, exiting corners at top speed and I finished with a time that I didn't expect, so I'm extremely satisfied. I'm just as happy with the work that I've carried out with my team in preparation for the races."

Checa's blistering lap edged out Alitalia Aprilia rider Max Biaggi (1m 47.414s) with Sterilgarda Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow next (1m 47.648s) and Czech privateer Jakub Smrz (1m 47.662s) rounding out the front row.

RED FLAG IN SUPERPOLE

The third Superpole session was red-flagged at one point after Assen double winner Jonathan Rea high-sided the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda mid-session and Smrz also crashed. The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland highsided off the Honda, sustaining tyre burns to his neck and chest. However, he expects to be fit enough to compete in tomorrow’s two 21-lap races at the 4.907 km circuit.

World Championship points leader since round one, Alstare Suzuki rider Leon Haslam, was fifth fastest on the GSX-R1000, heading the second row of the grid.

Although Superpole 3 started again, Haslam had already used up his Pirelli qualifiers and was unable to go any faster. His team mate, Sylvain Guintoli, improved from Saturday and would probably have finished on the second row of the grid, but for the smallest of mistakes in one of the timed splits. The Frenchman will now start from row three.

"In final Superpole, I was on a flyer," Hasalam reported, "and, according to my first two splits, on course for the second or third quickest time. Then the red flag came out and that was the end of that. Although the session started again, I did not have any qualifiers left to use and there really wasn’t enough time to make an improvement, so row two it is for me. It’s not so bad, because turn one is a long way off, but it could be bad if Max (Biaggi) makes a good start because the Aprilia is so fast and he could easily exit the first corner with a good advantage.

"I’m pretty happy with my bike set-up, though of course I always think that we can improve it further. We will all sit down and look at the telemetry this evening and decide if we want to make some small changes in tomorrow morning’s warm-up. One thing is sure - tomorrow’s races are going to be long and hard and there are going to be some really good battles. The nature of this track suits the Ducatis and Aprilias and I think all of us four cylinder boys are going to have work our socks off to stay with them, but we will see what happens as the races play out. I am leading the championship now and I want to be still leading it when we leave Monday evening."

For the full details on qualifying positions, click on the link: http://sbk.perugiatiming.com/pdf_frame.asp?p_Round=USA&p_Anno=2010&p_Manifestazione=07&p_Gara=01&p_Sessione=Q6A&p_Stampa=RIE

HASLAM STRETCHES LEAD AT KYALAMI

By MICHAEL ESDAILE

ALSTARE Suzuki's Leon Haslam showed tremendous maturity in the face of incredible pressure in round six of the 2010 HANNspreee Superbike World Championship at South Africa's Kyalami Raceway on May 16 to gain a buffer over Alitalia Aprilia's Max Biaggi at the top of the points table.

Haslam scored 3-1 placings in the two 24 lap, 101 km races compared with Biaggi's 4-3 results, thus ending the weekend stretching his championship lead back out to 15 points. The Englishman had gone to South Africa just three points ahead of Biaggi after the Italian streaked to two emphatic wins at Italy's Monza circuit the previous weekend, on the fastest bike in the Superbike field. Biaggi's Monza double and Haslam's 4-2 results at the high speed Italian circuit had seen the Suzuki rider's 20 point lead in the title chase slashed dramatically.

At Kyalami, the Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 was not the fastest bike, but in Haslam's more than capable hands, it proved a winner when the chips were down in race two.

The first race was dominated by factory Ducati rider Michel Fabrizio, who bounded into the lead from the start, set a devastating opening lap time to establish a handy break on the field, then controlled it from the front all the way to the finish.

Phillip Island's race two winner Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) slotted his twin into second place before the first lap was over, but try as he might, he was unable to close on the Xerox machine of Fabrizio, who lowered his own year-old lap record by 0.378 of a second on the third lap. The two Ducati's were running virtually identical lap times as they slowly pulled away from the chasing pack, headed by the Sterilgarda Yamaha YZF-R1 of double world champ James Toseland, who proved something of a rolling road block for Haslam, Biaggi and Aprilia number two man Leon Camier, who were queued up behind looking for a way past. It was mid-race before Haslam finally made a pass stick on Toseland, and he immediately scooted clear while Biaggi then looked for a way past the 'wide' Yamaha. Toseland's team-mate Cal Crutchlow was cursing himself for messing up the start. He had lined up in pole position but was eighth after a lap and although he made it to seventh after three laps, he was relegated to eighth at the finish when Jonathan Rea came howling past on the Tean Kate Honda CBR1000RR with three laps to go. The next lap, Rea then pulled the passing manouvre of the weekend, slicing past Toseland and Lean Camier in one stroke tio grab fifth at the flag.

While Fabrizio led the whole way for his first win of the season, last year's double winner Noriyuki Haga was a shadow of his former self, finishing out of the points in seventeenth place, beaten even by Tom Sykes on the Paul Bird Kawasaki ZX-10R. Later Haga complained of a rear Pirelli that just had not worked the way he expected.

Although Fabrizio controlled the race and set a new lap record, his race time for the 24 laps was a fraction slower than the pace Haga had set winning the first race at Kyalami in 2009.

If race one a tense, if processional affair, race two was an excitement packed edge-of-the seat experience.

Determined not to be held up by the Toseland road block, Haslam streaked into an immediate lead with Ten Kate Honda's Rea clamped to his rear Pirelli with Biaggi going with them. Rea snatched the lead on the second lap and despite numerous passing moves by Haslam, and Biaggi, he had the Honda in front every time they crossed the finish line. Although he had pulled three points clear of Biaggi in the title chase after the first race, Haslam's championship lead was in the balance. Every time Biaggi got in front of him, it meant his title lead was reduced to a solitary point.

While Rea, Haslam and Biaggi went at it out front, Fabrizio was a close fourth initially but he faded as the race wore on, and Crutchlow took fourth off him after eight laps, then Carlos Checa gave the Italian factory Ducati man the blow by at by mid-race.

At that point, Rea was leading and Biaggi was looking for a way through. Had he managed that, and Haslam had remained in third, the Italian would have had the lead in the championship. Haslam knew what he needed to do, but had to do a lot of probing and passing to work out his final strategy.

With two laps to go, Haslam dived by Rea to lead and this time made it stick, pulling a vital buffer while Biaggi then worked on the Honda man. However, in the end Rea helped Haslam's cause by holding onto second place, Biaggi was third then a gap back to Crutchlow and Checa, just 1.479 seconds covering the top five, who were all on different makes of motorcycle.

James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda) battled hard to record sixth place, with both he and Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad) overhauling a fading Fabrizio at the end. Jakub Smrz was again ninth and 2009 double race winner Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) tenth. The top Kawasaki rider was Tom Sykes, 14th, while Camier and Sheridan Morais (Emtek Aprilia) failed to finish. In the championship Haslam now has 222 points, Biaggi 207 and Rea 141, tied with Checa.

It was a very heady ride from Haslam, but on appearances, it appears the Suzuki is fractionally slower in acceleration to the Aprilia, Honda and Yamaha at this stage. And with Aprilia getting the nod to switch to gear-driven camshafts in its V4 engine for the next round in the USA at the end of the month, Haslam will be hoping the Alstare team and Suzuki can come up with a technical improvement of their own to help keep his championship chances alive.

For full results, click on: http://sbk.perugiatiming.com/pdf_frame.asp?p_S_Campionato=SBK&p_Anno=2010&p_Round=RSA

ALSTARE SUZUKI TEAM REPORT:

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam is not only still on top of the world, but at Kyalami he extended his championship lead over his closest rival to fifteen points. Leon didn’t achieve his third in race one and tremendous win in race two though without a fight. Race two was particularly dramatic and action-packed and was one of the best battles of the season so far. Throughout the race Leon fought tooth and nail with fellow countryman Jonathan Rea (Honda), with Leon taking the lead several times only to get overtaken again. The battle went right down to the wire, with Leon making an audacious passing move a lap and a half from the end. This time he made it stick and went on to take the chequered flag by half a second. It was Leon’s third win and ninth podium podium of the season and one of hardest victories of his career. Team mate Sylvain Guintoli endured another average day, ending with 10th in race one and 15th in race two. It was the Frenchman’s first visit to Kyalami and one that he will not remember with much fondness.

Leon - Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 1st
"What an amazing day! The second race was one of the best races I’ve ever been involved in and definitely one of the hardest. Jonny and I had a real ding-dong and it was bar-to-bar stuff for almost the whole race. I passed him a few times, but he always got me back and the longer the race went on I could feel him working out where I’d pass and how he’d stop me. In the end, I had to pass at a different place and this time I made it stick and held on to the flag.
"To win a race like that is quite an emotional thing and I have to give a big thank-you to the whole team for all their work this weekend. The bike in the second race was an improvement over race one. We had a few issues in race one, so changed the balance by making a bit lower in the front and higher in the rear. I still had some issues with it, but it was better and allowed me to fight for the win. After the drama of race two, it’s hard to remember what happened in race one. I didn’t get a good start and had to make up a lot of ground as best I could. I wasn’t completely confident in the front-end, so could not push hard enough to catch Michel (Fabrizio) and Carlos (Checa), but I was happy to get on the podium. Today was a tough day, but I’m very happy to have extended my championship lead and I’m looking forward to the next round in USA."

Sylvain - Race 1: 10th, Race 2: 15th
"Well today should’ve been a lot better than it turned out and I am very disappointed. The first race was not so bad, except that I lost a lot of time in two particular corners and could could not catch the front guys. OK, this is new track for me, but I think I should’ve been able to cope with it better. The second race was a disaster! I had no grip and no feeling in the brakes. I had made a good start, but Sykes touched me and I lost position. Then I started having problems with the brakes. It felt as if they had no power and that’s not a good feeling to have when you racing at high speed at a track like this. It’s been a weekend to forget and I hope that I will be able to get on the pace at the next race, though it will also be a new track for me."

STERILGARDA YAMAHA REPORT:

Pole position starter Cal Crutchlow and team-mate James Toseland were among many of the riders today struggling to find adequate grip levels on the abrasive Kyalami circuit as they battled for valuable championship points in the two World Superbike races. Race one saw Crutchlow initially drop to ninth off the line, while Toseland battled it out in the top three, pursuing Michel Fabrizio and Carlos Checa and fighting off the attack of Leon Haslam from behind. As the grip levels dropped dramatically he gradually dropped over a number of laps, eventually crossing the line in seventh with Crutchlow just two tenths of a second behind in eighth place. Race two saw the riders again struggling to maintain a competitive race pace as their grip levels suffered early on. Despite a less than perfect start Crutchlow battled up to take fourth position, taking race one winner Fabrizio and Ducati rider Checa in the process. Crutchlow held his fourth position to the line, taking the chequered flag just under a second behind race leader Haslam. Team mate Toseland also dropped back several positions from the start but battled up to then enjoy a relatively quiet run to a sixth place finish at the line. The riders now head to round seven of the World Championship at the Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City, with Toseland holding on to fifth place in the standings on 125 points, just 16 points off Jonathan Rea in third. Crutchlow moves up to ninth position in the championship, just nine points adrift of Fabrizio in eighth.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (8th, 4th)
"We did the best job we could today at a track that the bike is not best suited to. Like a lot of riders I seemed to lose a lot of grip very early in the races making it a struggle to keep on the pace. Having said that I was pleased overall with the second race, we were battling for a win and showing good pace throughout to hold on for points. It's a difficult circuit and we've done well, the team did a really good job and we're looking forward to getting to Salt Lake City. The track at Miller will suit our bike a bit better so I'm confident we can achieve some good results."

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (7th, 6th)

"The team are a bit bewildered after today, we lost grip on the tyres so quickly in the two races it was a challenge to keep up race pace. Considering I had my big crash only a week ago, getting a sixth and seventh finish is not bad for the championship for me. The differences that people have had today in grip level is incredible, some riders seemed to lose performance dramatically between the two races. I am a little frustrated but I certainly haven't had as bad a day as some riders. Over the weekend my neck got better and better, it was a bit sore still on Friday but it was fine today. A big thank you to the team who did a fantastic job this weekend, we're looking forward to a rest now before Salt Lake City in a couple of weeks."

HANNSPREE TEN KATE HONDA REPORT:

Jonathan Rea produced two outstanding rides in today’s sixth round World Superbike championship races at Kyalami in South Africa to take fifth and second place finishes. Starting from the third row of the grid, Rea began race one impressively, moving up to sixth on the opening lap before a lack of grip dropped him to ninth place. However, the 23-year-old was able to maintain consistent times throughout the race and he fought his way back to fifth in the closing laps, including one thrilling move around the outside of both James Toseland and Leon Camier at turn 12. With a slightly harder rear spring in his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR for the second outing, Rea charged into second place on the first lap and snatched the lead from Haslam on lap two. The Northern Irishman was able to hold Haslam and Max Biaggi at bay until Haslam made his winning move on the penultimate lap. Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner, suffered from further chatter problems over Kyalami’s severe bumps and, despite an improvement to the bike for race two, was only able to post 19th and 17th place finishes.

Jonathan Rea – 5th and 2nd:
"I got a good start in the first race but just couldn’t hold the other guys as I didn’t find any grip. But even when I dropped down to ninth with quite a gap in front, I didn’t give up on a single corner or a single straight. I was able to maintain pretty consistent laps which allowed me to catch and pass the others at the end. We made a small change for race two and then I got a blinding start. From there I found it easy to go to the front but it was really difficult to make a break. In the end, Haslam made a lunge and I had to settle for second. All in all, I would have taken your arm off if you’d offered me those results this morning and I’d like to thank the team for keeping my spirits up – it wasn’t looking too clever after warm-up. I’m really looking forward to Salt Lake City now that we’re back on the podium".

Max Neukirchner – 19th and 17th: "Race one was just a continuation of the problems we’ve have had all weekend but we were able to improve the bike a little for a better feeling in the second race. However, I still couldn’t push hard enough to pass the guys in front of me. Over the last few laps, we also had a bit of a problem with weight transfer on the bike, which we also had in race one. Now we have to hope we have learned something that we can take to Miller in America, which I missed last year, but I got two podium finishes there in 2008."

Ronald ten Kate – team-manager: "Well, it’s been an interesting day – that’s the very least we can say! We knew we had a good race pace with Jonathan but in race one he just lacked the outright speed for the opening laps. He had to fight his way through and, for most of the second half of the race he was the fastest guy on the track. His strategy of immediately taking the lead in race two was a bit of a surprise to everyone in the garage, but it worked out well!. Kyalami was where he took his first Superbike podium last year, which really kick-started his season, but we have to be strong in every single race now if we are to close the gap on the leaders. Max had more problems today – problems that have plagued him all weekend here. We know it’s a difficult circuit to get right though, so we’ll move on to Miller, where we know our bike can work well."

XEROX DUCATI REPORT:

Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio was celebrating with his squad after dominating a spectacular Race 1 to take his first victory of the 2010 season, at the South African track of Kyalami. Michel made a perfect start to Race 1, moving straight into the lead by getting past Crutchlow, Toseland and Checa right off the line. The Italian quickly extended his lead over Checa (on Althea Racing’s 1198) and maintained a constant one second advantage for the entire duration of the race. Lap times inevitably began to increase during the final stages of the 24-lap race but nonetheless Michel carefully managed his advantage and crossed the line first, to take his first race win of the 2010 season, just over a second ahead of the Spaniard.

Noriyuki Haga had a more difficult race, struggling with a lack of grip. Although he made up a few positions straight off the start line, progressing from 16th to 12th, after about ten laps the lack of rear grip began to affect his lap times which consequently caused him to lose over the final laps the positions he had previously gained; the Japanese rider therefore closed Race 1 in 17th position.

Michel made a less impressive start to Race 2 but his reactions were quick and he made up over the course of the first lap the positions he had lost off the line. For the first eight laps he remained in fourth position, just behind Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam e Max Biaggi who battled it out among themselves up ahead. Unfortunately however, an unexpected loss of grip subsequently prevented the Italian rider from pushing and, in increasing difficulty in the final stages of the race, he eventually concluded the race in eighth place. Noriyuki meanwhile had a better race, lapping consistently fast, with lap times in the final stages that matched those of the podium placed riders. Although he continued to improve, there was too much to make up from sixteenth on the grid, and the Japanese rider had to be satisfied with tenth place.
Despite two difficult races, Haga still holds on to sixth position in the overall standings (106 points) while Michel Fabrizio, thanks to today’s win, has started to close the gap; now eighth with 95 points. Ducati remains in third position in the manufacturers' championship with 185 points to Aprilia’s 213 and Suzuki’s 222.

Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 – winner , Race 2 – 8th): “I’m really happy with the win in the first race, happy for Ducati of course but above all happy for myself. I really needed a result like this after several difficult race.
It wasn’t easy however, I had to make an intelligent race, doing all I could to maintain the second of advantage that I had over Carlos. It was a great race but also a very tiring one! Race 2 went very differently; the level of grip immediately began to drop after only three or four laps and it became impossible to catch the leading group that continued to gain on me. Anyway with the points taken in race 1 today I’ve gained a position in the overall standings and now I’ll turn my attention to the next event at Salt Lake, a track I really like.”

Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 – 17th , Race 2 – 10th): “In Race 1 after about ten laps the performance of the rear tyre dropped dramatically. There wasn’t much I could to improve. I’m disappointed of course because with no grip you don’t really get anywhere. In the second race, having made some small changes to my bike but deciding to go with the same tyre, I had a better overall feeling and, from more or less mid-race, unlike race 1, I was able to push increasingly hard. The problem was that those ahead of me had already built a significant lead; I needed a few more laps to be able to catch some of them.”

BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT REPORT:
Kyalami - Races. Sunday, 16 May 2010. Weather conditions: Sunny.
Temperature: Air: 19 - 22 °C, Track: 24 - 33 °C
Number of riders participating: 22 from 13 teams
Fastest lap Race 1: Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox Team) 1m 38.170s
Fastest lap Race 2: Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 1m38.658s
A positive finish after a tough Kyalami race weekend for Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport: After struggling in the first race, Troy Corser (AUS) and Ruben Xaus (ESP) were able to finish the second race seventh and 11th respectively. Troy has now scored a total of 105 points after six rounds of the 2010 FIM Superbike World Championship season, nine more than during the entire 2009 campaign. Ruben has 42 points to his credit. In the manufacturers' standings, BMW has scored a total of 108 points and lies sixth.

Race 1: Both Troy and Ruben made up places at the start; Troy finishing the first lap in tenth, while Ruben was 13th . Troy passed Jakub Smrz (CZE) on lap three, and Jonathan Rea (GBR) on lap seven. Both BMW riders lost a couple of positions again, and finished 12th and 14th respectively.
Race 2: Again, good first laps for both BMW riders: Troy crossed the line eight and Ruben 12th . Troy passed Leon Camier (FRA) shortly after, and tried to close the gap to the front. Ruben battled for a long time with Noriyuki Haga (JPN). In the end, Troy defended his seventh position, and Ruben only missed a top ten finish by one position.

Troy Corser:
Result Race 1: 12th , Gap to 1st : 00:25.504 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1m38.854s
Result Race 2: 7th , Gap to 1st: 00:13.740 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 1m38.989s
"In the first race I really had zero grip after only five laps. I had no confidence to attack any more, and I literally just rolled around the track till the end of the race. We changed the bike's set-up a little bit between the races, and we used the Diablo B rear tyre spec instead of the A spec as we had over the entire weekend. The consistency of this tyre was much better than in the first race. I am quite happy with the changes, in the second race I was able to ride the bike. Unfortunately I lost a little of the initial grip in the middle of the corner. I was really
quick in the first sectors, but could not really follow the other bikes at the top of the hill. This was a little frustrating. I tried to adjust over the course of the race and rode the bike completely differently to how I had over the whole weekend."

Ruben Xaus:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Result Race 1: 14th , Gap to 1st : 00:27.273 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1m39.624s
Result Race 2: 11th , Gap to 1st : 00:21.101 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 1m39.299s
"My start today in both races was not great. I was hoping to make up some more positions early in the race and that didn't happen. I had to work really hard to get through the field and passing is not easy here. In race two the bike was a lot better, we made some changes to the set-up, and that allowed me to run consistent lap times. I had a hard battle with Noriyuki Haga and I worked really hard to defend my position. I tried my best today. It was another step forward for me and the team and I am confident for the next race in the United States."

Berthold Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director):
"Today was a positive finish to a really tough weekend for our team. We had to deal with a track that does not really suit our bike. Nevertheless, the entire team - riders, engineers, mechanics and everybody involved - proved to have the right attitude. We had ups and downs over the course of the weekend, but the team never gave up. We came back after a disappointing first race. A big Thank You to the team. Although today was a tough day for us, there is reason to celebrate for BMW: Congratulations to BMW Motorsport for winning the prestigious 24 hours race at the Nürburgring with the BMW M3 GT2."

WEIGHT ADJUSTMENT FOR SUPERBIKE TWINS

SINCE the current Superbike World Championship rules were established in 2008, twin cylinder machines have had to carry a six kilogram (6 kg) weight penalty compared with four cylinder bikes, as well as a 50mm intake restriction.

When this regulation was established, it was with the proviso that if 1200cc twins ended up struggling to be competitive with 1000cc fours, then the weight limit and/or the intake restriction, would be adjusted, as stipulated in Article 2.4.4.2 of the FIM rulebook.

Following round six of this year's championship at Kyalami in South Africa, the weight penalty on the twins has been adjusted. They will now have a 3 kg weight penalty. The minimum weight for twin cylinder machines is now 165 kg, effective from round seven at Miller Miller Motorsports Park, Utah, USA on May 29-30. Four cylinder 1000cc bikes still enjoy a lower minimum weight of 162 kg and no intake restrictions.

The weight adjustment was announced by the FIM Superbike Technical Director Fazi Fabio who revealed that the average value of the event points averages over the first six events of the 2010 HANNspree Superbike World Championship favours the 1000cc fours by more than five points per event. In fact, the event average points disparity for twin cylinder machines is 6.92 points, twins averaging 13.46 points per event compared with 20.38 points for four cylinder machines in this year's championship.

CRUTCHLOW PUTS YAMAHA ON KYALAMI POLE

UNDERSCORING just how tight the competition is in the 2010 HANNspree Superbike World Championship, the Superpole sessions for round six at South Africa's Kyalami circuit were the closest ever seen.

In the finish, Cal Crutchlow(Sterilgarda Yamaha) snatched his third pole of the year, with the remainder of the front row of the grid finishing within 0.125 seconds of each other.

Crutchlow (1m 37.243s) and second-placed James Toseland (Sterilgarda Yamaha) both beat Ben Spies' pole record of 1m 37.288s - 157.117 km/h while third fastest when it really mattered was Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati). The front row was completed by Ducati Xerox rider, Michel Fabrizio, who set the lap record at 1m 38.548s in the first race last year.

Heading the second row is Leon Haslam (Alstare Suzuki) while Ducati Pata B&G privateer Jakub Smrz, who had been fastest in combined qualifying, was sixth in Superpole. The second row was completed by Aprilia Alitalia's Max Biaggi and Leon Camier on their rapid RSV4 machines.

Failing to make it through Superpole 2 for a shot at the front two rows of the grid were double Assen winner Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), Aussie Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport S 1000 RR) and his Spanish team-mate Rueben Xaus, along with Xerox Ducati's Noriyuki Haga. On a track where passing is difficult, 'Nitro Nori' has made it hard for himself, starting on the outside of the fourth row.

Last year Haga won both races in South Africa with team-mate Michel Fabrizio second each time. But while Fabrizio is again on the front row, Haga is well back in the pack. Once again underlining how tight this year's series is, the top 16 in Superpole were all under the Kyalami Superbike lap record, Haga included. That said, Haga's Superpole lap time this year, 1m 38.496s, was almost a second slower than his 1:37.544 effort in 2009.

Cal Crutchlow: "It didn't look like we were going to be (Yamaha) one and two on the grid this weekend. Coming to what was Yamaha's worst track last year results-wise, as a team we have done a fantastic job to get first and second. It will be interesting tomorrow but today is today and we are first and second. If we make a good start it will make for entertaining racing."

James Toseland: "I went wide twice in my fast lap, and felt there was a high 1m 36s in there. But to go from high 1:39s at the start of the weekend to even thinking about a high 1:36, gives great credit to the team. I came out this afternoon thinking, ‘right this championship is still there and I am not prepared to just let it slip away.' To be second on the grid after being 17th this morning means I have to give thanks to everybody from the team and Clinica Mobile."

Carlos Checa: "Here again we are at track where the bike works quite well. We did the best qualifying job of the year because we did not know the track, but we knew that the Ducati was going to work. Finally it was very exciting in qualifying, one of the closest. I though these guys in front would maybe be in the 1:36s but we all did 1:37.2s. I think we will have exciting racing."

Michel Fabrizio: "I pushed very hard in Superpole and when I did a 37.3, I thought that was it, I would be second, but then I saw I was only fourth. But I have a lot of faith in myself and tomorrow I am going to do well in the races."

For full Qualifying and Superpole results, click on:
http://sbk.perugiatiming.com/pdf_frame.asp?p_Round=RSA&p_Anno=2010&p_Manifestazione=06&p_Gara=01&p_Sessione=Q6A&p_Stampa=RIE

DUCATI FASTEST AT KYALAMI

XEROX Ducati rider Michel Fabrizio headed the first qualifying session for round six of the HANNspree Superbike World Championship at South Africa's Kyalami circuit on May 14, lapping the 4.246km circuit near Johannesburg under his own lap record.

To underscore the intensity of competition in Superbike World Championship racing in 2010, all seven participating manufacturers were represented in the top 11 places, all within 0.859 seconds of each other.

Fabrizio led the charge, with a best time of 1m 38.477s on race tyres.

Behind Fabrizio, Cal Crutchlow on with the Yamaha Sterilgarda YZY-R1 was second fatest (1:38.529), with Jonathan Rea's Hannspree Ten Kate Honda third (1:38.687) and Troy Corser's BMW Motorrad Motorsport fourth fastest, with a best lap of 1:38.896.

Championship points leader Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) was fifth (1:38.951), with privateer Althea Ducati rider Carlos Checa sixth. All the top six set lap times under the 1m 39s mark.

Seventh was the Pata B&G Ducati of Jakub Smrz, with the top eight rounded out by recent Monza race winner, Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia). Privateers Shane Byrne (Althea Ducati) and Luca Scassa (Supersonic Ducati) were the final riders into the top ten places on the opening day.

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was 11th fastest, top Kawasaki rider in the 22-strong pack, one place ahead of Biaggi's team-mate Leon Camier.

Some legendary Superbike names had a tough first day, with Noriyuki Haga only 13th, Ruben Xaus 14th and James Toseland still hurt from his big Monza crash, 15th.

Local wild card rider Sheridan Morais (EmTek Aprilia) was a creditable 16th, only 1.3seconds from pole at his local track, while the top 18 riders were covered by only 1.547 seconds.

For the full first qualifying session times, click here: http://sbk.perugiatiming.com/pdf_frame.asp?p_S_Campionato=SBK&p_Anno=2010&p_Round=RSA

BIAGGI TOPS RECORD BREAKING MONZA

By MICHAEL ESDAILE

APPROPRIATELY given the team is sponsored by Italian airline Alitalia, Massimiliano Biaggi was flying on his Aprilia RSV4R at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza on Sunday, May 9. After taking pole with a new record qualifying time, Biaggi went on to win both races in front of a record Superbike crowd of 115,000 at one of the most famous motor sport venues in the world.

Not only that, in winning both races, Biaggi took a serious bite out of English Suzuki rider Leon Haslam's lead in the HANNspree Superbike World Championship. Haslam went to Monza for the fifth round of the championship with a 20 point lead over Biaggi. By the end of the weekend the Suzuki man was still on top - but now with just a slim three point gap to the storming Italian who enjoys the sobriquet 'Roman Emperor'.

Although Haslam had qualified fifth fastest on the Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000, he'd had to ride hard to record his 1m 42.633s Superpole lap, the Suzuki almost 10 km/h down on top speed to the flying Aprilia V4 - which was just a little faster than the Sterilgarda Yamaha YZF-R1s of James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow.

In the first race, Haslam got out a great start, slotting into the slip-stream of Biaggi's Aprilia at the first chicane. Tucked right in behind the GSX-R1000's fairing, Haslam rode in Biaggi's wheeltracks for four laps as the pair of them eased away from the chasing pack. Then Haslam made a tactical error. He passed Biaggi on the brakes to take the lead on the fifth of 18 laps, upsetting Biaggi's rhythm and allowing the Sterilgarda Yamaha's to close up, and pounce. With his title rival then embroiled in a battle for second, Biaggi made good his escape, gapping the brawling Brits. Then Jonathan Rea joined the battling trio fighting over second, with the result that three laps after passing Biaggi for the lead, Haslam was back in sixth place. However, Rea crashed the HANNspree Honda CBR1000RR out of proceedings a lap later, leaving Haslam with the task of trying to grab Crutchlow's slip-stream. He did it, worked the draught and got in front of Crutchlow but the Yamaha man was not finished, fighting back to push Haslam back to fourth in the final laps.

Had Haslam stayed in Biaggi's slip-stream a lot longer, he may have had a shot at winning the race, or at worst, finishing second. As it was, Biaggi took 12 points off the Suzuki man in that first race and the Sterilgarda Yamaha team rejoiced in having two riders - Toseland and Crutchlow - on the podium.

Although barely one second behind the winner at the chequered flag, fourth meant no podium for Haslam. Three seconds behind him, Leon Camier, Biaggi's team-mate was fifth ahead of Ruben Xaus, having his beat result of the season on his BMW, then it was Michel Fabrizio seventh for Ducati Xerox, Troy Corser (BMW) and Tom Sykes ninth on his Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-10R.

Max Biaggi: "That was a special result, because it is special to win at Monza and because this is a special track with a very high top speed. We worked very hard for this race weekend so it was a perfect performance by all the team. The Yamaha guys running together means they could be quicker than me in the final lap but we held it together and took our first win here at Monza."

James Toseland: "Another second place, it's a bit frustrating, but it was a good strong race. I want to congratulate the team for getting two bikes on the podium. Congratulations to Max, he didn't put a foot wrong. On that last lap I was hoping he was going to make a slight mistake to allow me to get alongside but he didn't. They were strong round here, but we're getting better all the time, but as I said second and third all the time is a bit frustrating."

Cal Crutchlow: "I felt like I put together a solid race, but we never got the best of starts again, the bike is hard to get off the line, but all credit to Yamaha, we came to their home round and second and third for me and James is a strong result. We knew we would struggle a bit for speed, but to be honest I struggled throughout with gear shifting, I had a leaky engine oil cover. I was struggling to change gear up the box, but I feel I rode well."

Biaggi made some radical changes to his rear suspension after his race one win and eventually ran out the clear winner of race two. This was Max's second double of the year, the first coming in Portimao.

Behind him there was mayhem at the first chicane, with a multi-bike pile up claiming first race runner-up James Toseland. Another rider collided with the Sterligarda Yamaha going into the first chicane on the opening lap, causing a big crash leaving him with light concussion. He was awake following the incident but taken to hospital for a check up to assess if there was further injury.

Team-mate Crutchlow made a good start and was chasing Biaggi in second place just 0.1 seconds behind the leader but in the eleventh lap stones flicked up from Biaggi's rear wheel peppered Crutchlow's helmet, with one piercing his oil cooler. This caused him to low side going into the first chicane on lap 12. He was uninjured in the fall but unable to continue.

So Biaggi took his second win of the day in fine style, clear win, by 4.5 seconds clear of Haslam's Suzuki.

Third place for Troy Corser was an historic first podium for BMW in SWC racing, in the second season of full-on competition for the S 1000RR. Corser is now seventh in the championship.

Leon Camier was a lonely fourth for Aprilia in race two and an aggressive fifth from Kawasaki rider Tom Sykes rounded out a day of new high points for many riders and teams.

James Toseland was taken to hospital to have a CT scan after suffering concussion in a high-speed crash, with Jonathan Rea spraining his ankle and Ruben Xaus escaping the turn one collision without injury.

In contrast to Biaggi's great day some leading lights suffered in the final analysis, with Carlos Checa 14th and 11th in the races, as he ties for fourth place on 110 points with Rea, who did not score today. Toseland is fifth on 106, Haga sixth on 100.

Max Biaggi: "This track is very long and it's very easy to make a little mistake plus when you have your rhythm you stay with it, and it's difficult to go faster and easier to go slower. Anyway I'm happy with the result, it was a close race. I'm happy for me and my team. It's an unbelievable result, it looks like we are achieving our goal. Here there is also the President of our group and it's been a great weekend for everyone."

Leon Haslam: "We had a few big moments in that race and I'm nursing my wrist because one of them sent me off the back of the bike when I was with Max and Cal at the time. This weekend's been tough, we've been a little bit down on speed, which is unlike the Suzuki, but the boys have worked fantastic. To get on the podium here in Monza is always special so I'm really happy for that. The battle for the title is definitely closing in, we knew Max was going to be strong here, but hopefully we can get back to our winning ways because each race is getting tougher and tougher," he said.

"The podium in race two was very hard work, but I didn’t want to miss out on a podium today and kept battling away. I had a really big ‘moment’ in race two and was way out of the saddle twice in the space of a fraction of a second. Somehow I stayed on the bike, but it was a very close thing! After Cal crashed, Troy kept me on my toes, but Max was too far in front for me to catch so I just made sure of runner-up spot. I did something to my wrist when I had my ‘moment’ and it felt pretty sore, but I managed to carry one to the end. In race one, I lost contact with the leaders and then had a bit of a grip problem for the last four or five laps and couldn’t get out of the corners as fast as I wanted. We made some little suspension changes (just a few clicks here and there) for race two and the bike was definitely better to ride."

Troy Corser: "I'm so happy, the team has put a lot of hard work into the project not just this year but last year and sometimes it's been difficult and frustrating. But this weekend we've worked really hard and have been progressively getting better and better, just struggling a bit with braking, but we made a change for the second race and it made the bike easier to stop. We had the speed, our bike was as fast as anything out there, and it just took me a few laps to get used to the brakes in the second race. Thanks to all the boys at BMW, it's been a long time coming, let's hope it's not going to be the last one!"

For comprehensive practice, qualifying, Superpole and race results, go to:
http://sbk.perugiatiming.com/pdf_frame.asp?p_Round=ITA1&p_Anno=2010&p_Manifestazione=05&p_Gara=01&p_Sessione=001&p_Stampa=CLA

BIAGGI BAGS RECORD MONZA POLE

MASSIMILIANO Biaggi topped an incredible lead-up to round five of the HANNspree Superbike World Championship, snatching his first ever Superbike pole position. His effort meant it was also the first time Aprilia's year-old RSV4 has topped the class in Superpole.

Incredibly, Biaggi's time was almost two seconds under the pole record, set last year by eventual 2009 Superbike World Champion Ben Spies (Yamaha). Biaggi blasted the V4 Aprilia around in 1m 42.141s, compared with Spies' old record of 1m 44.073s. Biaggi's Aprilia also set a new Superbike top speed record, streaking through the speed trap at 330 km/h and averaging 203.653 km/h for the complete lap.

But it was not just Biaggi running hot at Monza: in the first Superpole session (Superpole 1), the top 16 riders were all under Spies' pole position record as they strove to make it to the second Superpole session. The pace was just as hot in Superpole 2, with all 16 riders again under the pole record, with eight of them still not making it to Superpole 3, which sets the first two rows of the grid.

After big improvements for rounds three and four, Troy Corser on the factory BMW S1000RR was 'bumped' - failing to make the cut to Superbike 3. However, in a dramatic turnaround in fortunes, the Paul Bird Kawasaki of Tom Sykes just made it to Superpole 3 with a 1m 43.207s effort on the improving ZX-10R. He was the last rider to make the cut to Superpole 1 and eventually ended up on the outside of the second row.

To rub salt into Corser's wounded pride, his team-mate Rueben Xaus found something extra to take his BMW to the final Superpole session. Prior to that, Corser had been faster than his team-mate in all five sessions.

Up to that point, 2009 Supersport World Champion Cal Crutchlow was fastest man around the 5.7 km Monza circuit, with a 1:42.255 effort on the Sterligarda Yamaha YZF-R1, just ahead of the Xerox Ducati of last year's race one winner Michel Fabrizio. Curiously, Crutchlow and Fabrizio had topped the time sheets right at the start of the weekend, when they headed the first practice session on Friday morning. Even at that early stage they were under Spies' pole record, as were Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) and Leon Haslam (Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000).

But in the final Superpole session, Biaggi uncorked his amazing lap to snatch pole away from Crutchlow with Fabrizio and Rea the other two riders on the front row.

The second row was headed by championship leader Leon Haslam, who said he was baulked on his two flying laps, first by James Toseland (Sterligarda Yamaha YZF-R1) and the second time by Skykes on the Kawasaki.

The remainder of the second row was made up of Rueben Xaus (BMW S1000RR), Toseland and Sykes.

For the complete list of Superbike Superpoke times from Monza, go to:
http://sbk.perugiatiming.com/pdf_frame.asp?p_Round=ITA1&p_Anno=2010&p_Manifestazione=05&p_Gara=01&p_Sessione=Q6A&p_Stampa=RIE

VIEW FROM ALSTARE SUZUKI PIT:
Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam just missed out on a front row grid place in Superpole 3 this afternoon when he was baulked on his two flying laps. The first time was by James Toseland (Yamaha) and the second was by another of his fellow countrymen - Tom Sykes (Kawasaki). But for those two instances, Leon would’ve qualified on the front row for sure. His team-mate Sylvain Guintoli struggled to find a good rhythm today and ended with the 14th quickest time in Superpole. He now faces a difficult task staring tomorrow’s pair of 18 lap races from the fourth row of the grid.

Leon Haslam
"I’m disappointed not to be on the front row, but I am pretty happy with my bike and feel confident about the races tomorrow. I was on a quick lap in final Superpole, but got pushed out wide by James (Toseland). So I thought I’d go for it on the second lap, but this time Tom (Sykes) was on my racing line and I had to go round him to get past and lost time in the process.

"It’s good that the first turn is a long way from the start and as long as I get off the line well I’ll be with the front guys for sure. The first chicane is going to be tight and I hope nobody tries to do anything stupid there on the first lap. I think that a wet race might be better for the championship, but I guess we’d all rather prefer two dry races and a lot of close-quarter racing. We’re probably going to get that anyway!"


Sylvain Guintoli
"Once again, I am having a problem finding a good rhythm and being here in Monza for the first time is no real excuse. It’s my job as a racer to learn tracks quickly and I have not succeeded as well as I wanted to. I’m disappointed not to have done better today and now my job tomorrow is going to be a lot harder as I will be starting from the fourth row of the grid. The other thing is that I didn’t manage to improve much when I was on qualifying tyres and that is something I will have to get used to and sort out.

"We not far off where we want to be, but in this championship not far is a like a long way off! The series is so competitive that any small slip in qualifying can push you way back down the grid. I have been practising my starts and now I need two good ones tomorrow."

THE STERILGARDA YAMAHA VIEW:
Yamaha riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland put in an impressive performance in Superpole, with Crutchlow just missing out on pole to start from the second position on the grid for tomorrow's two World Superbike races. The young British rider passed through each heat comfortably, fastest in the second session with an impressive 1'42.255 lap on a used race tyre. The final heat saw him miss out on pole to Max Biaggi by less than a tenth of a second.

Team-mate Toseland was also on form, clearing Superpole 1 in fifth and Superpole 2 in fourth, only three tenths off Crutchlow. The final session saw him heading for a front row start until a small mistake dropped a few tenths off his time, meaning he will start from seventh on the second row tomorrow.

Cal Crutchlow
"It was a shame to miss out on pole by less than a tenth of a second but all credit to Max for a good lap. We seemed to do a very good lap in Superpole Two on a seven lap old race tyre with a 42.2, then put two qualifiers in during the last session and I didn't feel like I had the same level of grip from them. It's going to be tough racing tomorrow, I'm looking forward to it and I think it'll be close. Being part of an Italian team and having our workshop literally a stone's throw from the Lesmo corner it's been good to deliver good results so far this weekend. They've put in a good effort, James has ridden to two fantastic podiums recently at Assen."

James Toseland
"We used both our qualifiers in the second Superpole heat and unfortunately didn't have one for the last session, however I would have done a mid 42 but I made a mistake at Lesmo on my first lap, and being a race tyre I really needed to get it in on that lap so I lost a few tenths there. That would have put me on the front row, and to say you can get there on a race tyre is encouraging. We had a problem with an engine this morning in qualifying and a different gearbox in the other bike which meant we couldn't run with the best gearing in Superpole. If it can stay dry tonight then we can try a few things in tomorrow's warm up and I'm quietly confident we can do well in the races."

FACTORY DUCATIS ON THE PACE!

Test - MisanoThursday Apr 29 2010Test - Misano

THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM LEAVES MISANO IN A POSITIVE STATE OF MIND

Misano (Italy), Thursday 28th April: Warm conditions at the Misano World Circuit allowed the Ducati Xerox squad to carry out two day’s worth of work on track, with positive results. Despite battling against 'flu and a high fever,strong>Noriyuki Haga rode alongside his team-mate Michel Fabrizio and both demonstrated a fast pace.

On track together with the Aprilia, BMW and Yamana factory teams, the two Ducati Xerox riders and their technicians concentrated above all on making modifications to the 1198 bikes in order to improve feeling and refine set-ups in preparation for the next race at Monza, May 7-8.

Noriyuki’s physical condition unfortunately worsened and after making two exits in the late morning, during which it was evident that his weakness was preventing him from pushing, the Japanese rider decided to finish up early, at lunchtime. Work continued for Michel however, and he spent the afternoon working on race pace and testing some different settings dedicated to the qualifying tyres, to better prepare for the Superpole sessions.

At the end of the tests, the team returned home satisfied with the work achieved. Michel made more than 150 laps over the two days, recording a great (unofficial) time of 1m 35.7s with the race tyre, followed by a 1m 35.2s on a qualifier, while Noriyuki, unwell, registered a best time yesterday of 1m 36.6s on a race tyre.

Michel Fabrizio
“We’ve worked really hard, my best time of 1m 35.2s on a qualifier was good but I’m more satisfied with the 1m 35.7s that I set on a race tyre and the fact I was able to lap consistently fast. My technicians made various changes to the suspension settings of my 1198 and I didn’t have any real problems. At Monza we absolutely must do well, we need to make good points in order to make up lost ground. We’ll see.”

Noriyuki Haga
“Yesterday everything was going well, lap times were better than they were during last year’s racing, but of course track temperatures were lower too of course which helped. The feeling I had with the tyres was good and we also identified a better suspension setting, as well as trying some engine settings too. Now we have to see how those solutions work at Monza. Everyone knows that Monza has many long straights where we have difficulty with top speed but I plan to open the gas and give it my all.”

Ernesto Marinelli – Team Manager
“We’re going through a very difficult phase, perhaps the most difficult that I remember, but the important thing is to react and never give up, and in this respect the whole team is very strong. This test has been very important and the problems regarding lack of feeling (the hardest kind to fix), that both riders were citing at Assen, seem to have been resolved or at least greatly reduced. It’s a pity that Noriyuki was affected by the 'flu, but Michel’s solid test is certainly an important base from which to start at Monza, where we’ll give 200%.”

YAMAHA R1 HAS SUCCESSFUL MISANO TEST

Latest from the Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team

The Yamaha Sterilgarda world Superbike Team wrapped up a successful two day test in Misano this afternoon, fresh from James Toseland’s two podiums in Assen. Riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland spent the two days testing further changes to their 2010 R1 race-bikes as they prepare for the next round of the championship at the legendary Monza circuit next week. Toseland spent the first day focussing on the electronics, and ended the day second fastest on unofficial timing (no transponders) with a 1m 36.0s, only 0.1 sec behind the fastest time of the test, having completed 69 laps. Team mate Crutchlow was working on a general bike set-up, putting in 87 laps on the first day and ending it just behind Toseland, third fastest with an unofficial time of 1m 36.0s.

(The fastest Superbike lap at Misano is a 1m 35.435s set by Czech racer Jakub Smrz on the Guandalini Racing Ducati 1198R in Superpole 2009. The fastest race lap is 1m 37.135s recorded by Noriyuki Haga on the Xerox Ducati 1198R in running third in race two, 2009).

Day two saw Crutchlow working through a different set up to the previous day, finding advantages with each. He finished the second day of testing in third having put in a sub-lap record 1:35.7 lap on race tyres. Team-mate Toseland spent the day working on race pace and durability, using a qualifier towards the end to put in a 1:35.6 and take the second fastest slot of the day yet again.

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda world Superbike Team “We’ve achieved a lot, and ended up second today. Fabrizio did a really good low 1:35 second lap on a qualifier but I think on race tyres there were definitely consistent 35s to be had for us as well. The fastest race time last year was a 37 so it shows how much everyone has improved, we’re 1.3 seconds under the lap record. Misano is definitely suited to the Ducati, it’s their strongest track I think, however I did ten laps in the low 36s which is great for race pace and the important thing is we’ve moved forward on durability for race pace which is key.”

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team “It’s been quite a progressive two days, we’ve worked through two completely different set ups and found pros and cons to both. I think we’ve found a clear direction to work in which we now need to fine tune. I was pleased with the pace we had, we were consistently in the top three without using a qualifier tyre, so we’re good with race tyres which is important. I have to keep working and hopefully it has put us in a good set for Monza.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda world Superbike Team Manager “We’ve had a really good test here at Misano. We tried some different things in both electronics and bike set up with both riders and in the end we learnt some valuable information and we made improvements. We will use these steps to bring upgrades in both electronics and chassis set up. Misano has been invaluable in finally providing us with some structured testing time to really develop a solid base for the rest of the season. Whilst we have made steps at each round including the new linkage for James in Assen, this has been our first real opportunity to make the next step. We now head forward with a more competitive package for the season and are confident this will benefit us from the next race in Monza”

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© Copyright Yamaha 2010

REITWAGEN TEAM IN TROUBLE

Resch and the S1000RR at Phillip Island

THOSE watching the Sky television broadcasts from round four of the HANNspress Superbike World Championship at Assen in the Netherlands last night may have noticed the grid was a little thinner than usual - not that it hurt the action any!

Missing were the Reitwagen BMWs of Australian Andrew Pitt and Roland Resch of Austria, the team managed by Andreas Werth.

It is no secret that the Reitwagen team missed most of the pre-season testing while waiting for bikes. Also, the delay in a competitive electronics package saw the team running bikes that were in almost a Superstock level of trim - almost stock engines with slightly upgraded chassis.

With these problems not looking to be resolved in time for Assen, and with problematic financial issues, it was decided that the team would not compete this weekend.

Explaining their non-appearance at Assen, Pitt issued this statement:

“Obviously I’m disappointed, I’m a spectator here at Assen and I love this circuit. I found out we were not racing here during the week. I was hoping for a finish closer to the top 10.

“I’m told there is some financial restructuring going on and that there is no point racing until the bike can be further developed, so the aim is to make a comeback at Monza.”