Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) and Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) shared the wins in an exciting fifth round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. 118,000 spectators witnessed Fabrizio’s maiden Superbike win in race 1 and Spies making amends in race 2 for his first race disappointment, when his Yamaha ran out of fuel at the final corner. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) crashed out in race 2 after being hit by a bird but still leads the table with a 54 point advantage over Spies.
Superbike Race 1 Overview
The first Superbike race of the day saw a thrilling end to one of the best races ever seen at Monza. The race had to have two starts, after two crashes at the first chicane of lap 1 involving Tamada, Hill, Corser, Neukirchner and Roberts led to it being interrupted. The German came off the worst with a broken right femur and dislocated right foot, while Roberts picked up various bruises. The outcome of the race was decided at the final curve. Spies was well on his way towards a fifth win of the season when in the Parabolica his Yamaha ran out of fuel just a few metres from the line. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) capitalized on Spies’ misfortune to take his first win in Superbike. Team-mate Noriyuki Haga finished second to maintain his points lead. The third place battle also saw a thrilling end as Max Biaggi took his Aprilia over the line, but the Italian was penalized 20 seconds for cutting the chicane, leaving Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda) to take the final podium position after a spectacular mid-race recovery from a poor start. Fourth went to Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare), ahead of the British pair of Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike). Both BMW and Kawasaki placed riders inside the top 10, Ruben Xaus taking the German four-cylinder machine to seventh while a still unfit Broc Parkes fought hard for tenth place.
1st – Michel Fabrizio Speaks…
"Well, I really didn’t expect this win, even though I’d been up at the front for the past two days. I had a small problem when the gearing hit neutral after Ben and I touched and I was not able to find second. He got away a bit from me but I thought I had to fight until the very end because I was convinced I could do it. But I think his fuel finished, a real pity for him."
2nd – Noriyuki Haga Speaks…
"For sure we did a great race, and it was really tiring, unfortunately on the last lap and the last corner Ben had to stop, but for us we did a great job so I want to say a big thanks to all the team. My bike was working good but this weekend we had a little problem that we tried to find but we didn’t resolve and it wasn’t perfect."
3rd – Ryuichi Kiyonari Speaks…
"My start was very bad in race one but I was able to fight back lap by lap during the race. Still I can’t believe this result because on the last lap I thought fifth, but when the race stopped I was in fourth and when I got to my pit box my team told me I was third, so I was very surprised and happy."
Superbike Race 1 Results
1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 31’50.758 (196,459 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 0.239; 3. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 8.175; 4. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 11.001; 5. Rea J. (GBR)Honda CBR1000RR 12.447; 6. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 13.693; 7. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 19.172; 8. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 24.989; 9. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 26.930; 10. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 27.418; 11. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 27.752; 12. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 29.545; 13. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 30.952; 14. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 31.414; 15. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 36.998; 16. Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 42.732
Superbike Race 2 Overview
Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) immediately made amends in race 2 by dominating from start to finish. The Texan left everyone standing after just a few laps and went on to win his fifth race of the season. This win, together with the crash at the Parabolica on lap 3 of points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), keeps the championship battle wide open. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) now becomes a credible title candidate after crowning his Italian weekend with an excellent second place. Fabrizio managed to hold off Ryuichi Kiyonari in the final stages, the Japanese rider repeating his race 1 result. A superb fourth went to Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), while Max Biaggi (Aprilia), in fifth place, could have been further up the standings had he not made a mistake while fighting amongst the group and he was unable to make up the gap again. Tom Sykes took another sixth place for Yamaha, while Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) made up for his race 1 retirement with a seventh place. Troy Corser did not take the start in race 2 after his two crashes today, but BMW honour was held high by Ruben Xaus, who again finished in ninth place. Broc Parkes again scored more points for Kawasaki in thirteenth.
1st – Ben Spies Speaks…
"What could have been, that was a tough pill to swallow. We put our head down in race 2 and had to get into a good rhythm in the first 12 or 14 laps because we were obviously having a problem at the end of the race. I had to slow down and do the short-shifting trick and make sure everything was good till the end."
2nd – Michel Fabrizio Speaks…
"Ben really deserved this win after what happened in race 1. He was really determined at the start. I had to race with my second bike because of the problems in race 1 with my first bike so it took me a bit of time to get used to it as I had been using bike 1 for the last three days. I’ll have to wait a bit longer now for my second win."
3rd – Ryuichi Kiyonari Speaks…
"I’m happy with these results but a little bit disappointed because I tried to follow Fabrizio but I cannot pass him. My bike was very fast on the straights but my braking was not so good today."
Superbike Race 2 Results
1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 31’49.252 (196,614 kph); 2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2.665; 3. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 2.810; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 7.706; 5. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 7.863; 6. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 10.383; 7. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 11.586; 8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 21.112; 9. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 22.112; 10. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 22.261; 11. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 23.453; 12. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 32.956; 13. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 37.166; 14. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 43.085: 15. Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 43.088; 16. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 43.825
Superbike Points Standings (after 5 of 14 rounds) – Riders
1. Haga 200; 2. Spies 146; 3. Fabrizio 125; 4. Haslam 103; 5. Sykes 90; 6. Biaggi 81; 7. Laconi 77; 8. Rea 77; 9. Neukirchner 75; 10. Kiyonari. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 225; 2. Yamaha 180; 3. Honda 141; 4. Suzuki 89; 5. Aprilia 84; 6. Bmw 59; 7. Kawasaki 19
Supersport Overview
Cal Crutchlow is proving to be the man on form in the championship with his second win of the season at Monza. The Yamaha World Supersport rider now has an 18-point lead in the championship over his closest rival, Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), who finished fourth. The race came to a head four laps before the end, when Crutchlow gradually pulled away from Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) and Laverty to take the win. The battle for the podium was an exciting one, with Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Provec) powering up through the field to take a superb second place. The Spaniard managed to get the better in a sprint finish, confirming his Kawasaki to be right on the pace. Team-mate Katsuaki Fuijiwara followed this up with sixth place. The two Hannspree Ten Kate Honda men, Andrew Pitt and Kenan Sofuoglu were never in the hunt, finishing fifth and ninth respectively, while Garry McCoy and Gianluca Nannelli took the two Triumph Be1 machines to top 10 finishes.
Supersport Results
1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 29’34.605 (188,029 kph); 2. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2.660; 3. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 2.716; 4. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 2.780; 5. Pitt A. (AUS)Honda CBR600RR 9.270; 6. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 9.332; 7. Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 20.178; 8. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 20.221
Supersport Points (after 5 of 14 rounds) – Riders
1. Crutchlow 99; 2. Laverty 81; 3. Sofuoglu 72; 4. Pitt 54; 5. West 52; 6. Lascorz 47; 7. Foret 44; 8. Aitchison 34; 9. Pirro 33; 10. Veneman 28. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 108; 2. Yamaha 99; 3. Kawasaki 58; 4. Suzuki 28; 5. Triumph 27
Superstock 1000 Overview
Victory in the third round of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup went the way of Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare) after a thrilling last-lap sprint around the Parabolica to the line with another of the pre-race favourites, Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox). The Italian attacked on the inside line and held off his Belgian rival by just 0.01 seconds. Thanks to this win, his second of the season, Corti returns to the top of the table, with a one-point lead over Simeon. The final podium slot went to Javier Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini), who remained in the leading battle until the last few laps. Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox) scored his best result of the season with fourth place, making up for a bad start that eliminated any chance of him fighting for the win. Aprilia finally produced a good performance at Monza with Federico Sandi finishing in eighth place.
Superstock 1000 Results
1. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 20’10.356 (189,533 kph); 2. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 0.010; 3. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 4.560; 4. Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.777 ; 5. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 7.406; 6. Jezek O. (CZE) Honda CBR1000RR 17.620; 7. Verdini L. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 20.616; 8. Sandi F. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 22.373
Superstock Points (after 3 of 10 rounds) – Riders
1. Corti 61; 2. Simeon 60; 3. Fores 42; 4. Berger 41; 5. Beretta 28; 6. Barrier 27; 7. Jesek 8. Burrell 18; 9. Baz 16; 10. Ortega 11. Manufacturers: 1. Suzuki 61; 2. Ducati 60; 3. Honda 51; 4. Kawasaki 42; 5. Yamaha 35; 6. Aprilia 8; 7. MV Agusta 8
Superstock 600 Overview
Italian Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno ) had a triumphant day at the Monza track, winning the race and moving back into the lead of the table. Previous leader Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) could only manage ninth place at the finish. Petrucci didn’t have an easy time however as he was pushed all the way by wild-card Ferruccio Lamborghini (Media Action Yamaha). An Italian 1-2-3 was completed by another wild-card Fabio Massei (M2 Yamaha), who got the better of Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha), Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha), Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno) and Eddi La Marra (Lorini Honda). Lamborghini and Massei were later disqualified for technical infringement.
Superstock 600 Results
1. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 15’17.215 (181,897 kph); 2. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 5.375; 3. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 5.429; 4. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 5.457; 5. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 5.709; 6. Gregorini G. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 11.133; 7. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 14.007; 8. Litjens J. (NED) Yamaha YZF R6 20.721;
Superstock 600 Points (after 3 of 10 rounds) – Riders
1. Petrucci 50 2. Rea 50 3. Guarnoni 43; 4. Lonbois 40; 5. Litjens 38; 6. Bussolotti 26; 7. Kerschbaumer 25; 8. La Marra 22; 9. Lombardi 21; 10. Guittet 21.