Haga back in control
Added on Sunday, September 27th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Haga back in control
Noriyuki Haga strengthened his championship charge at Imola today, soaring back into the lead of the World Superbike Championship, which was helped by an opening race win.
Haga stole the lead from Italian Max Biaggi with just four laps of the first race remaining, allowing him to make up twelve points on former championship leader Ben Spies, after Spies only managed a fourth place finish.
Pole man Michel Fabrizio slipped back slightly, and after enjoying a thrilling tussle with Biaggi in the closing stages finished a strong third behind his fellow Italian.
Marco Simoncelli, on his WSB debut, suffered an off, losing fifth place as the race progressed. The Britons amongst the field enjoyed varying fortunes, with Leo Haslam, Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes each finishing sixth, seventh and ninth, respectively.
Commenting on his championship enhancing victory, Haga said: “This is my first win since Kyalami and I am very happy, I really enjoyed that race. This morning we had a little problem and I thought it would be difficult to make good lap times for 21 laps, so for the race we made a modification for the suspension and things were better. I am really happy for the win because my dad came over for this race and I got the win, so I dedicate it to him!”
Following him across the line, second placed Biaggi said: “I am very happy with the result in the last race in Italy before next year. In the tests we suffered a bit more than the others but me and my team worked hard and late afternoon yesterday we improved our set-up. This morning was OK, we made some modifications, still there is room to improve but for sure it was a great result. In the final chicane with Fabrizio, I thought ‘you never know’, I saw him there a little bit on the side and I stick in my bike, stayed in there. I could pass him and this is a good result.”
Completing the podium, Fabrizio said: “From the sixth lap onwards I had a problem with my arm and I couldn’t pull the clutch very well, so I got used to changing gear without the clutch, but unfortunately the engine braking wasn’t quite right for that. As the laps went on I couldn’t feel my hand anymore and in the last five laps I was holding on with two fingers, I could hardly keep my hand on the bars.”
The second WSB outing the day took on a different turn, with Fabrizio securing his second triumph of the season. Fabrizio’s Ducati Xerox teammate, Haga, finished a strong second, enabling him to charge into the lead of the championship.
Simoncelli finished a strong third, taking the steps to the podium for the first time in the WSB series, while Biaggi was forced back to fourth. Championship contender, Spies, suffered a difficult race only managing fifth, with Rea enduring another difficult outing to finish sixth. Rea was followed home by fellow Brits Shane Byrne and leo Haslam, with JakubSmrz and carlos Checa completing the top ten.
Fabrizio said: “Today I really wanted victory in race 2. In the first race unfortunately I had a problem with my arm, and I just missed out on the win. For race 2 I fixed everything, I changed my arm and I changed Nori and went on to win! I am happy for the Ducati Xerox team, today all the Ducati top management were here so Nori and I cut a good figure! For sure I think we deserved the renewal of our contract!”
Second placed Haga commented: “Congratulations for Michel for winning and for Marco with his first time in Superbike, third position today. For the race, I changed the bike completely from the first race and in this bike we had a few problems. During the race the bike started moving a lot, after Michel passed me I tried to catch him up but he was quite fast today and I couldn’t find where I could pass him…and then I was dead! I think I need more salt, 1 kilo of salt!”
Finally, celebrating a strong result, Simoncelli said: “If I finish the race in the first 5 I am very happy. In the first race I was fifth but crashed, while in this race I started better than in the first and after some laps I keep a very good pace. In the chicane with my team-mate I didn’t want to pass him, but I braked too hard and I think ‘either I hit him and we crash or I try to pass’. I succeeded and I am very happy, a big thanks to Aprilia and my team. Today was a great big experience for me here in Superbike.”
The Supersport title has been blown wide open after this weekend’s race, as a result of Cal Crutchlow suffering a crash.
