Courtesy of Aprilia
RACE 1: BIAGGI SECURES THE SECOND STEP ON THE PODIUM, NAKANO FINISHES IN SIXTH PLACE
Today witnessed Race 1 of the UK round of the SBK under a grey sky that loomed over the Donington Park circuit. However, in the end threat of rain was just that, only a threat and the crowds of English fans were able to watch an incredible race without getting soaked.
Max Biaggi started off well and was right behind the poleman Spies at the first curve, followed by Haga in third place. The three drivers had that something extra over their adversaries and they broke away from the pack, maintaining a pace that was just under the record set at the Bayliss track in 2007. After four laps, Haga began to lose ground and about halfway through the race he was losing one second per lap with respect to the pacesetters. Spies continued to push ahead at a maniacal pace, but Biaggi didn’t budge at all, and recovered what he had lost on the final and slowest part of the track during the second part of the race, which was much more technical and had a faster pace. The two continued that way until Biaggi’s motorcycle suddenly died out at the last chicane due to a problem with the gas pump. Fortunately, Max was able to restart his RSV4 and thanks to a lead of more than nine seconds on Haga, he still managed to finish the race in second place. The Roman driver and Noale’s four-stroke V cylinder motorcycle returned to the podium following the two third place finishes that were secured in Qatar, and a parenthesis surrounding the much discussed penalty in Race 1 at Monza.
Shinya Nakano finished in sixth place, at 21:286 behind Spies. The Japanese driver, who started off from fourth place, lost some ground at the beginning and fell behind the lead group. After recovering some ground thanks to a good rhythm, Shinya found himself battling Haslam and Byrne for fourth position. It was only during the final two laps that he lost a bit of ground against the two English drivers who were racing on their home turf.
"I’m very pleased with the result,” declared Biaggi. “After some difficult trials, we finally found the right tyres and balance, even though we had a few problems during the warm-ups. We had a great race, and we managed to set a pace that was just under the track record. I must compliment Ben, because he set an incredible pace. At the last chicane, the bike died out suddenly, but fortunately it started again and because of the lead I had gained over Haga, I still managed to cross the finish line in second place.”
RACE 2: TWO CRASHES FOR BIAGGI AND NAKANO
A pale sun peeked through the clouds to brighten up Race 2 of the UK SBK round. The 61,000 spectators that were present at Donington Park witnessed total domination by Ben Spies and a number of falls, most likely due to the higher temperature.
The start of the race was exactly the same as Race 1, earlier today, with Spies ahead of everyone, followed by Biaggi once again, while Nakano moved into third position followed by Haga and Haslam. The American driver then began to break away from his competitors and only Biaggi managed to keep up with him. During the second lap Nakano ran into in a frightening high side that fortunately didn’t result in any injuries. During the fourth lap Biaggi lost his front tyre at the first curve and slipped to the ground, but quickly got back on his bike and returned to the race. Upon re-entry, Max came into contact with one of his adversaries along the outer kerb and slipped back to twentieth place. During the crash, the Roman pilot ended up with a bruise and a minor injury to the third metatarsal of his right foot, but he still managed to finish the race in twentieth place. The degree of his injuries will not prevent Max from participating in the Aprilia’s private test run on the Brno track that is scheduled for July 1st and 2nd.
During the fifth lap, Haga, who was in second place at the time, fell at the end of the straightaway, and ended up with a fracture of one of his vertebrae. He was taken to hospital in Derby and the severity of his condition will only be known in the next few hours.
So, it turned out to be a cake walk for Spies, who crossed the finish line with a significant lead over Haslam, who was racing on home turf and Fabrizio secured the third step on the podium.
"During the second race, I felt the vibrations a lot more,” said Biaggi. “It was probably because of the fact that there wasn’t as much grip on the track which would also explain why there were so many falls. I started off well and I was able to keep up with Spies’ pace, but during the fourth lap I entered the U turn the same way I always do and about halfway through, I lost the front tyre. I managed to keep the motorcycle running, but re-entering from outer kerb area, I was hit by another driver and ended up with this minor injury to my foot. I’m disappointed because I could have had another spot on the podium.”
“The results of Race 1 were good,” said Nakano, “considering the problems we encountered during the warm-ups, and even though I lost a lot of ground at the beginning. Instead, I started off much better in Race 2 and I realised that I would be able to keep up with the leaders, but during the second lap, I lost my rear tyre and flew into the air. Luckily I’m fine, even though I’m disappointed about how things ended up. On Wednesday we’ll do the test runs at Brno which will help me improve my feeling and develop the RSV4 for the next round.”
TIMES
1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 1min 29.846s
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1min 30.080s
3. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 1min 30.535s
4. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1min 30.671s
5. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1098R 1min 30.734s
6. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1098R 1min 31.023s
7. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 31.342s
8. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1min 34.797s
9. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.159s
10. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 1min 30.229s
11. John Hopkins USA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.272s
12. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.387s
13. Gregorio Lavilla ESP Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1min 30.612s
14. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF-R1 1min 0.816s
15. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 30.916s
16. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 31.120s
17. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF-R1 1min 31.176s
18. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 31.215s
19. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 1min 31.260s
20. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 31.217s
Positions 21 to 31 decided in Q2
21. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 31.874s
22. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R 1min 31.887s
23. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 32.183s
24. Matthieu Lagrive FRA HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR 1min 32.243s
25. Jamie Hacking USA Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 1min 32.245s
26. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 32.343s
27. Alessandro Polita ITA Celani Suzuki GSX-R1000 1min 32.584s
28. Blake Young USA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 32.735s
29. David Checa ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 1min 32.811s
30. Roland Resch AUT TKR Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 33.384s
31. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR 1min 33.408s
1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 23 laps
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +7.156s
3. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198R +10.968s
4. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +18.843s
5. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R +19.125s
6. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +21.286s
7. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000 +23.644s
8. John Hopkins USA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +32.849s
9. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +32.904s
10. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +33.192s
11. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +34.535s
12. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198R +35.093s
13. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF R1 +35.441s
14. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R +39.034s
15. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +41.067s
16. Matthieu Lagrive FRA HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR +46.452s
17. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +47.924s
18. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R +48.246s
19. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +50.932s
20. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki ZX-10R +55.32s
21. Jamie Hacking USA Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +55.216s
22. Alessandro Polita ITA Celani Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1min 02.758s
23. Blake Young USA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +1min 02.977s
24. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 12.255s
25. David Checa ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 YZF R1 +1min 12.531s
26. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +1 lap
Not Classified
27. Roland Resch AUT TKR Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R1000 13 laps completed
28. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 13 laps completed
29. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF R1 13 laps completed
30. Gregorio Lavilla ESP Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 6 laps completed
31. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR 0 laps completed
1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 23 laps
2. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR +6.622s
3. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198R +6.816s
4. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R +7.349s
5. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 +8.145s
6. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF R1 +13.463s
7. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +15.751s
8. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF R1 +16.837s
9. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +22.891s
10. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki ZX-10R +30.347s
11. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R +30.622s
12. Matthieu Lagrive FRA HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR +31.562s
13. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +32.148s
14. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R +32.607s
15. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000 +32.806s
16. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +34.269s
17. Blake Young USA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 +40.664s
18. Gregorio Lavilla ESP Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R +40.956s
19. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +41.302s
20. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +42.856s
21. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 +47.769s
Not Classified
22. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR 15 laps completed
23. Roland Resch AUT TKR Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R1000 15 laps completed
24. Alessandro Polita ITA Celani Suzuki GSX-R1000 6 laps completed
25. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 5 laps completed
26. David Checa ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 YZF R1 5 laps completed
27. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198R 4 laps completed
28. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 2 laps completed
29. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1 lap completed
30. Jamie Hacking USA Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 1 lap completed
DNS John Hopkins USA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR