Haga extends lead at Assen
Added on Monday, April 27th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Haga extends lead at Assen
Noriyuki Haga extended his lead in the World Superbikes championship after Ben Spies crashed out for the second round in succession.
After securing victory in race one at Assen, Spies’ inconsistency came back to haunt him one again as he slid out on lap two to hand the Ducati rider an unchallenged victory in race two.
The former AMA Superbikes champion forced his way past Haga in a thrilling final lap at the Assen circuit to claim a race one victory by just 0.154 seconds and the pair continued their two-horse race for the world championship.
Race two proved to be somewhat more processional after Spies’ tumble, with Haga racing away from Britain’s Leon Haslam.
It proved to be an outstanding weekend for Haslam as the privateer Stiggy Honda rider secure two podiums following his third place finish in race one, a result that puts him third in the championship, ahead of the likes of Michel Fabrizio, Max Neukirchner, Tom Sykes and Max Biaggi on factory machines.
The result means that Haga extends his lead in the championship to 60 points over Spies, who despite winning the same number of races as Haga, has been left to rue three-pointless races in the opening four rounds of the season.
Speaking on the result, Haga said “First of all, I’m sorry for Ben and his crash, I hope he is fine. After the first race we changed the suspension a little bit and the bike was really comfortable, so a big thanks to everyone in the team. I think it’s nine years since I won here, in 2000, so I’m very happy and now I’m looking forward to Monza.”
World Superbikes Championship 2009, Round Four: Assen, Netherlands. Race One
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Ben Spies | USA | Yamaha WSB | 36:31.338 |
| 2 | Noriyuki Haga | JAP | Xerox Ducati | +0.154 |
| 3 | Leon Haslam | GBR | Stiggy Honda | +0.779 |
| 4 | Tom Sykes | GBR | Yamaha WSB | +8.775 |
| 5 | Max Biaggi | ITA | Aprilia Racing | +11.275 |
| 6 | Jakub Smrz | CZE | Guandalini Racing Ducati | +16.126 |
| 7 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | Ten Kate Honda | +19.555 |
| 8 | Regis Laconi | FRA | DFX Corse Ducati | +19.760 |
| 9 | Michel Fabrizio | ITA | Xerox Ducati | +23.006 |
| 10 | Troy Corser | AUS | BMW Motorrad | +24.285 |
| 11 | Shane Byrne | GBR | Sterilgarda Ducati | +26.003 |
| 18 | Stuart Easton (Wildcard) | GBR | PBM Kawasaki | +55.567 |
| RET | Tommy Hill | GBR | Ten Kate Honda | 0 Laps |
Race Two
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Noriyuki Haga | JAP | Xerox Ducati | 36:31.712 |
| 2 | Leon Haslam | GBR | Stiggy Honda | +2.678 |
| 3 | Jakub Smrz | CZE | Guandalini Racing Ducati | +4.603 |
| 4 | Michel Fabrizio | ITA | Xerox Ducati | +8.981 |
| 5 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | Ten Kate Honda | +12.104 |
| 6 | Tom Sykes | GBR | Yamaha WSB | +14.575 |
| 7 | Carlos Checa | ESP | Ten Kate Honda | +17.449 |
| 8 | Shane Byrne | GBR | Sterilgarda Ducati | +17.729 |
| 9 | Max Neukirchner | GER | Alstare Suzuki | +18.167 |
| 10 | Troy Corser | AUS | BMW Motorrad | +25.056 |
| RET | Tommy Hill | GBR | Ten Kate Honda | 20 laps |
| RET | Stuart Easton (Wildcard) | GBR | PBM Kawasaki | 3 laps |
World Superbike Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Noriyuki Haga | 180 |
| 2 | Ben Spies | 120 |
| 3 | Leon Haslam | 94 |
| 4 | Michel Fabrizio | 80 |
| 5 | Max Neukirchner | 75 |
| 6 | Tom Sykes | 70 |
| 7 | Max Biaggi | 65 |
| 8 | Regis Laconi | 64 |
| 9 | Jonathan Rea | 53 |
| 10 | Jacob Smrz | 44 |
| 13 | Shane Byrne | 39 |
| 20 | Tommy Hill | 6 |
