Ducati dominate in South Africa
Added on Monday, May 18th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Ducati dominate in South Africa
Noriyuki Haga stretched his lead at the top of the World Superbikes to 88 points with two wins as Ducati dominated round six of the World Superbike Championship.
Haga, the only man in the current paddock to have won at the Kyalami circuit ahead of this weekend’s return to South Africa, took both races in impressive fashion ahead of teammate Michel Fabrizio.
Haga eased to victory in race once, breaking away from the mid-point and eventually finishing ahead of Fabrizio by almost a second and some way ahead of title rival Ben Spies to make up for his disappointing weekend at Monza just a week prior.
Race two provided more excitement as well as a major championship boost for Haga at Spies was forced out with a technical problem after just two laps, leaving the Ducati pair to fight amongst themselves for the top step on the podium.
Haga led for the most part before Fabrizio threatened to take the 25 points with a strong challenge on his teammate on the final lap. Haga managed to win the back the lead however in the final stages to take maximum points and complete a dream weekend.
“We get some good points this weekend and I really enjoyed battling with Michel in the second race,” he claimed afterwards.
“We changed a little bit the setting from the first race and that feeling was a bit better, but at some point it got worse. On the last lap I saw Michel do harder braking than me, and of course I took the wrong line but I was able to open the gas and get to the line first.”
Jonathan Rea was the top Brit of the weekend with fourth and third place finishes, with Leon Haslam and Tom Sykes both securing top ten finishes.
World Superbikes Championship Round 6: Race One
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Noriyuki Haga | JAP | Xerox Ducati | 39:47.436 |
| 2 | Michel Fabrizio | ITA | Xerox Ducati | +0.950 |
| 3 | Ben Spies | USA | Yamaha WSB | +3.391 |
| 4 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | HANNspree Ten Kate Honda | +8.914 |
| 5 | Max Biaggi | ITA | Aprilia Racing | +9.019 |
| 6 | Carlos Checa | ESP | HANNspree Ten Kate Honda | +14.812 |
| 7 | Shinya Nakano | JAP | Aprilia Racing | +14.971 |
| 8 | Yukio Kagayama | JAP | Suzuki Alstare | +15.723 |
| 9 | Shane Byrne | GBR | Sterilgarda Ducati | +21.529 |
| 10 | Tom Sykes | GBR | Yamaha WSB | +21.795 |
| 19 | Tommy Hill | GBR | Honda Althea Racing | +50.065 |
| RET | Leon Haslam | GBR | Stiggy Racing Honda | Crash Lap 14 |
World Superbikes Championship Round 6: Race Two
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Noriyuki Haga | JAP | Xerox Ducati | 39:45.027 |
| 2 | Michel Fabrizio | ITA | Xerox Ducati | +0.322 |
| 3 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | HANNspree Ten Kate Honda | +8.936 |
| 4 | Leon Haslam | GBR | Stiggy Racing Honda | +10.561 |
| 5 | Max Biaggi | ITA | Aprilia Racing | +10.767 |
| 6 | Carlos Checa | ESP | HANNspree Ten Kate Honda | +12.413 |
| 7 | Shinya Nakano | JAP | Aprilia Racing | +12.616 |
| 8 | Yukio Kagayama | JAP | Suzuki Alstare | +14.878 |
| 9 | Tom Sykes | GBR | Yamaha WSB | +16.225 |
| 10 | Jacob Smrz | CZE | Guandalini Racing | +18.197 |
| 17 | Tommy Hill | GBR | Honda Althea Racing | +1:05.973 |
| RET | Shane Byrne | GBR | Sterilgarda Ducati | Retired Lap 7 |
Rider’s Championship
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Noriyuki Haga | 250 |
| 2 | Michel Fabrizio | 165 |
| 3 | Ben Spies | 162 |
| 4 | Leon Haslam | 116 |
| 5 | Jonathan Rea | 106 |
| 6 | Max Biaggi | 103 |
| 7 | Tom Sykes | 103 |
| 8 | Regis Laconi | 77 |
| 9 | Max Neukirchner | 75 |
| 10 | Carlos Checa | 73 |
| 15 | Shane Byrne | 48 |
| 22 | Tommy Hill | 6 |
