Courtesy of Aprilia

First round of official trials at Losail

It’s back to the track in Qatar for the second round of the SBK 2009 season. Unlike the other GP cousins, the production-derived bikes will race on the Losail circuit by day. In fact, the races will be held on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. local time (Qatar is two hours ahead of Central Europe). The track, which is covered in dust and sand, created some difficulties for the drivers, especially during the free practice, but later the grip gradually improved resulting in more interesting race times. During the first round of the official trials, Ben Spies achieved the best time with 1:58:886 on his Yamaha Factory.
Max Biaggi held on to fourth position with a time of 1:59:826, just 0:940 behind the American driver. The Roman put a great deal of effort into collecting as much data as possible about this completely new track for the RSV4, concentrating mainly on the suspension.
Instead, Nakano came in tenth, stopping the clock at 2:00:238, finishing 1:352 behind Spies. Shinya is continuing his apprenticeship in this new category with his RSV4.

"These practices were not easy,” declared Biaggi. “We started off without any data or parameters from previous years with which to work and this put us at a disadvantage with respect to the others since we debuted in this category with the RSV4. There was some improvement in the official afternoon trials and the bike became more manageable, but we’re still losing a few tenths of a second per lap with respect to the others because we’re missing stability, especially in the fast curves. Now, with help from the technicians, we’re trying to find some solutions to become more efficient, but there’s not much time to work with and so we’re mostly concentrating on the suspension.”

“It’s not easy to arrange the work we have to do here because we don’t have any data to analyse,” said Nakano, “but it didn’t go too badly today, in any case. Compared to Phillip Island, we managed to resolve a few problems. We have less chattering and this has allowed me to concentrate more on my driving. The track was quite slippery this morning, but the grip improved during the afternoon and we were able to work much better on the suspension. The engine is fine but the erogation is still far too aggressive.”

SUPERPOLE: BIAGGI FINISHES THIRD; NAKANO IN SIXTH PLACE

The track conditions at Losail have improved considerably resulting in an extraordinary Superpole, not only for the new formula that has met with much success, but also for the drivers who managed to repeatedly break the track records that were achieved last year at Bayliss. Ben Spies on his Yahama Factory, claimed the Superpole victory once again, with a time of 1:57:280.
Max Biaggi conquered the third place position, stopping the clock at 1:57:694, just 0.414 behind the Texan. Max closed out Superpole 1 in eleventh place with a time of 1:59:272, using competition tires and was the first place finisher in Superpole 2 with a time of 1:57:836, using the first available qualification tires.
Shinya Nakano will start off from the sixth position in tomorrow’s first race, thanks to his time of 1:58:755. This time the Japanese driver managed to qualify for Superpole 3. He finished in sixteenth place during the first round with a time of 1:59:688 with competition tires. In Superpole 2 he finished fifth with a time of 1:58:534, using qualification tires.

"I’m happy,” stated Biaggi, “about the results as well has for having battled once again to conquer the pole position. We didn’t try anything new here compared to the last race and this shows that the package is improving, even though there is still much to do. I must thank my team for the fantastic job they’ve done, they’ve allowed me to compete with the best and they are truly special people. Being in the first row gives us courage, we’re all very fast and this will make tomorrow’s races even more interesting. They are still many unknown factors because we’ve never raced on this track before this round, but we’ll give it our best shot, like we always do.”

“This is my second Superbike race and I’m finishing this Superpole in sixth place, which makes me happy,” said Nakano, “even though I’m behind by more than one second in the final eight and this means that something is still missing. I’ve got to improve this aspect as well. Nevertheless, I’ve managed to set a good pace and the chattering has decreased compared to Phillip Island. Tomorrow’s race will be very difficult, I’ll have to start off well and try to stay with the group of leaders, which I can manage, and then we’ll see what happens.”

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Crash.net: Biaggi hails another pole position challenge

RACE 1: BIAGGI CLIMBS THE PODIUM IN THIRD PLACE, NAKANO IN FOURTH

Race 1 of the SBK Qatar round was blessed by excellent weather conditions, even though it was hotter than previous days when practice rounds were held, and fortunately the threat of sandstorms was averted.

Max Biaggi started off extremely well from third position and immediately began to lead the race with his commanding pace. During the initial laps, only Haga, Nakano, Spies and Smrz managed to keep up with him, and by the fourth lap both his Japanese teammate and the Czech driver had lost ground. For more than half the race, the pace continued according to the following script: Biaggi setting the pace, Haga, struggling to pass him, even along the straightaways, and Spies in control. Nakano was left behind, alone in fourth place, in part due to Smrz’s fall during the sixth lap. Spies took the lead in the twelfth lap, taking advantage of a small error made by the two drivers that were ahead of him and he began to force the pace, allowing him to claim his second victory of the season. Then the Biaggi-Haga duel for second place began, with the two drivers trying to pass each other, breaking away and taking advantage of the wake on the straightaways. In the end, the Japanese driver won out, while Biaggi had to settle for the third step on the podium. Thanks to the Roman driver, Aprilia once again climbs atop the Superbike podium after more than six years, with the last win secured by Haga with the twin cylinder RSV Mille on 8 September, 2002 in Race 1 at Assen.

During the final three laps, Nakano battled against Checa’s Honda and after a series of passes with the Spaniard, he managed to defend his fourth place position.

"I’m very happy not only to be climbing atop the podium,” stated Biaggi, “but also for the awareness that I am constantly fighting for the top positions. It was a difficult race, my adversaries were glued to me and it wasn’t easy to keep the right pace and the proper concentration with all of that pressure. I am very happy with this package because it is already very competitive, I have established a good feeling with the bike and it is for this reason that I must thank my team for the very hard and important work they are doing. I am happy to be on the podium not only for myself, but also for everyone who is involved with and believes in this project.”

“I’m satisfied.” said Nakano, “This is only my second race and I’ve already managed to achieve a good result. I started off well and stayed with the lead group for half of the race, they broke away from me and I set my pace while trying to stay concentrated on defending my position. It was only during the final laps that Checa caught up with me and passed me, then he made a mistake and I managed to take back my fourth place position.”

RACE 2: BIAGGI ATOP THE PODIUM AGAIN, NAKANO IN SEVENTH PLACE

Race 2 at Losail for the Qatar SBK round was extremely fast, with Haga and Spies beating the track race record and the American taking the victory with a time of 1:59:041. The drivers on the podium were the same as in Race 1 with Spies, followed by Haga and Biaggi once again.

Biaggi’s second start was like a rocket being launched, allowing him to take control, followed by Ducati’s Japanese driver, the American on his Yamaha and Nakano himself who, after making contact with one of his competitors, however, fell back a few positions. Haga passed to the lead at the end of the first lap and the three drivers distanced themselves, with only Kiyonari attempting to catch up to them. Spies took the lead during the fifth lap and began to set a maniacal pace, separating himself from the others. Biaggi tried to stay with him, along with Haga and Kiyonari, but there was nothing that could be done. A hard fought battle began for second place between the Italian and the Ducati driver with Max giving it his all during the final lap, but in the end he was forced to settle once again for the third step on the podium.

In the meantime, after making contact in the initial laps, Nakano recovered and moved up to sixth position. Towards mid-race, Neukirchner on his Suzuki caught up with him and they began passing each other up until the last few metres of the race when the German managed to take the lead by just a few centimetres in the final sprint.

"It was a great race,” declared Biaggi. “I climbed onto the podium once again, thereby confirming our potential on this track, which is a bit special for me. Haga and Spies were extremely fast, they are the best right now and I am happy to always be there battling it out with them. The race was difficult. Towards the end I had lost a bit of grip and I could feel the pressure of Kiyonari. Now we’re looking ahead to Valencia and we are confident that we will do well. I would like to thank my team once again, I feel at home with them, it is like a big family, we do everything with a lot of enthusiasm, putting all our effort into it and everyone always does their best.”

“I started off well, but after a few laps, I made contact with another driver and lost ground,” said Nakano. “So I had to push it to the maximum to try ad recover. I managed to get back up to sixth position, but I was alone and I couldn’t keep a steady pace. Five laps from the end of the race, Neukirchner caught up to me and passed me and it was there that we began to battle it out up to the finish line, where I was left in his slipstream, by just a few centimetres though. In any case, it was an excellent weekend. We improved a great deal with respect to Phillip Island and Biaggi showed everyone the RSV4’s potential. Valencia is next, and it’s a track that I am familiar with. It’s also where I rode an Aprilia for the first time, even though that won’t put me at an advantage since the bike is a lot different now.”

TIMES

Read also

Max Biaggi on Worldsbk.com: "I tried to keep up and have a good rhythm without losing concentration. We have a new bike and every session we try to improve, but it's not easy to win right away. These guys did a great job, I rode very hard and today I was comfy, both front and rear, and looking good."
About race 2 he said: "It was a great race, we confirmed our potential and the feeling we have on this track, which has always been good to me. I think the bike works well, we still have to improve but we are very pleased with the result. For sure we know these guys are a little bit quicker, they run hard and deserve what they did, but I am confident to improve during the season and get some good points."

Crash.net: Biaggi confirms Aprilia race win potential
Crash.net: Nakano jumps forward during 'excellent weekend'

Full World Superbike Championship rider standings

(After 2 rounds of 14 - Previous position in brackets)

1. (1) Noriyuki Haga Ducati Xerox 85 points
2. (4) Ben Spies Yamaha WSB 75
3. (2) Max Neukirchner Suzuki Alstare Brux 40
4. (13) Max Biaggi Aprilia 38
5. (3) Leon Haslam Stiggy Honda 36
6. (10) Tom Sykes Yamaha WSB 32
7. (7) Regis Laconi DFX Ducati 30
8. (8) Jonathan Rea Ten Kate Honda 27
9. (15) Shinya Nakano Aprilia 27
10. (5) Yukio Kagayam Suzuki Alstare Brux 25
11. (6) Michel Fabrizio Ducati Xerox 24
12. (11) Troy Corser BMW Alpha 22
13. (-) Ryuichi Kiyonari Ten Kate Honda 21
14. (12) Carlos Checa Ten Kate Honda 21
15. (9) Jakub Smrz Guandalini Ducati 16
16. (-) Shane Byrne Sterilgarda Ducati 14
17. (14) Ruben Xaus BMW Alpha 14
18. (16) Tommy Hill Althea Honda 5
19. (17) Roberto Rolfo Stiggy Honda 3
20. (-) Broc Parkes Kawasaki WSB 2

Manufacturer standings (After 2 rounds of 14 - Previous position in brackets)

1. (1) Ducati 85 points
2. (2) Yamaha 81
3. (4) Honda 51
4. (6) Aprilia 41
5. (3) Suzuki 40
6. (5) BMW 27
7. (-) Kawasaki 2