Haslam delighted with Assen performance
Added on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Haslam delighted with Assen performance
Leon Haslam’s blistering start to his World Superbikes season continued in Assen at the weekend as the Derbyshire-born rider secured two podiums to establish himself as the competition’s top Brit.
Haslam secured his second and third podium finishes of the season on the satellite Honda, finishing only behind Noriyuki Haga and Ben Spies in race one and behind Haga in race two.
The results are even more impressive given that the former BSB rider’s Stiggy Honda team is competing in its very first World Superbikes season, having raced in the Supersport class since 2005.
“I am absolutely over the moon,” said Haslam after securing the double podium. “This certainly was my best race ever on one of my favourite tracks. To be on the podium twice in one weekend is just awesome. I was a little frustrated after the first race, as I wasn’t there in the last two laps with Nori and Ben to battle for the win.
“With Spies crashing out in the second race I thought I had a great opportunity to battle with Nori, but it just took me too long to pass Fabrizio. By the time I got passed him I managed to brake him by a second, but Nori was already gone and had a nice lead. I managed to gain a little bit on him towards the end, but it wasn’t enough to catch him.
“I want to give big thanks to my team and sponsors, and am looking forward to the next race in Monza.”
Team manager Johan Stigefelt was also understandably delighted with his team’s performance.
“It has been an incredible day for us,” he claimed. “We achieved a fantastic result here in Assen, it is a great effort from everyone in the team. We all have worked so hard to get here. Everyone believes in the project. We just have an incredibly strong and motivated team. At ten o’clock last night we were still swapping engines in Leon’s bike, but he is delivering and has rewarded the team for their efforts.
“Leon can ride the bike well and has put it to the limit. He has put in a great effort as well and to take home two podium places in our fourth Superbike race is just incredible. It’s a big thing for the team; we are currently third in the Championship and best Honda team. It is hard to believe we achieved this in such a short period of time.”
