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► 2009 Motorcycle Racing News

Michel Fabrizio (L) and Noriyuki Haga.  Photo and text sources include Ducati Corse, World Superbike and Yamaha Racing.

Spies Loses Championship Lead; Ducati Doubles

It was never going to be easy for Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies at Imola, who came in 4th in Race 1 and 5th in Race 2 to lose the Championship lead he held for only a short time.

After two spectacular races, it was the Ducati Xerox team celebrating after Noriyuki Haga and his Ducati 1198 stormed to victory in Race 1 and team-mate Michel Fabrizio repeated the feat in race 2.

With a race victory apiece, as well as a second place finish for Haga in the second race, and third place for Michel in the first, the result couldn’t have been better for the Ducati Xerox Team at their home track.  Haga thus regains his championship lead with only two rounds to go.

A fantastic Race 1 saw Max Biaggi take the lead off the start line, closely followed by the Ducati men Michel and Noriyuki and Honda’s Jonathan Rea.  Rea crashed out during the second lap, leaving the Ducati Xerox twosome to battle it out against Aprilia’s Biaggi.

Haga got ahead on lap nine only to lose the lead again to Biaggi shortly after.  In lap seventeen of twenty-one it was again the Japanese rider who led the pack, and it was he who reigned supreme, crossing the line first, ahead of Biaggi and Fabrizio who battled it out for second position until the final corner.

In Race 2 it was Fabrizio who was fastest off the line and for the first two laps he led the pack, followed closely by his team-mate Noriyuki, Biaggi, Byrne and Spies.  Haga got past Fabrizio on the third lap and from then on it became a Ducati showdown, Michel re-passing Nori mid way through the race to then hold the lead to the checkered flag, taking his second ever victory in front of Ducati’s home crowd.

Haga crossed the line just 3.5 seconds behind Fabrizio, making it a Ducati one-two, ahead of Simoncelli on the Aprilia who closed in third.

The results take Haga back into the lead in the overall championship standings.  The 45 points he takes home from Imola take him up to 391 points, just 3 points ahead of Yamaha’s Ben Spies.  Fabrizio consolidates his third position, holding a total of 330 points.

Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 Winner; Race 2 Second)
“It’s great to have won again, having not been in this position since Kyalami and having had some tough rounds after the Donington accident.  It was a very long race, I thought it would never end, and with all that happened, I don’t even remember when I overtook Max!

Over this weekend we have gradually improved and I am especially happy with the result because my father has travelled to Europe for the first time to see me race.

For Race 2 I unfortunately had to go out on the second bike as we had problems with the first and we couldn’t get it fixed in time.  It was a hard race and I am very tired at the end of it all.

Congratulations to Michel in Race 2 of course and also to Marco (Simoncelli) and thanks to my engineer Ernesto, to my team and to Ducati.  We are now back in the lead with a three point advantage but there are still four races to go so there’s still a fight ahead.  We need the best possible bike for Magny-Cours and Portimao!”

Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 Third; Race 2 Winner)
“What races!  I really wanted a win today so I am extremely happy.  In Race 1 the problem was that after just a few laps I was having problems with my left arm and it was hard to change gear, I had kind of cramps in my hand.

By the end I was really hanging on by two fingers with no feeling in my arm. So all things considered third place was a good result.  After the first race I got my trainer to do some work on my arm and it obviously did the trick because it wasn’t a problem in Race 2, and when I got past Noriyuki I knew I could win.

I’m happy also for my son, who is here and always asks me why I don’t win more!  Thanks to the whole team, to my trainer Leigh “Rok” Bryan, to Ducati, to Xerox and to the spectators who have been amazing this weekend.

All of Ducati’s top management were here today too so I hope that our results demonstrate that Nori and me deserve to have had our contracts renewed for next year.”

Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (4th, 5th)
"In race one we ruined our chances with the electronic side of the bike, we didn't have enough power coming out of the bike and we struggled with grip a bit as well, it was a rough race.

The second race we had the pace for sure to battle for the lead but a combination of things held us up.  Rea got pretty greedy early in the race, passing me in the gravel trap three different times.  I felt bad for him as I knew he had the pace to run up front but you've got to know when to calm down and when to take it easy for a couple of laps and let the race come in, you can't push on every corner.

I had a couple of laps where I wasn't riding well at all then I got myself together and caught up to Simoncelli and Biaggi.  They bumped and Biaggi ran off the track, when he came back on it was either hit him or go off into the gravel.

I got back on and caught up to Bryne and then almost ran into the back of him and had to run off the track again.  It was a messy race.  There were a lot of mistakes, a couple from me and some from others.

If you would have told me after the first race that we would only be losing the championship by three points I'd be happy because there were a lot of guys who could beat me this weekend."

Spies now heads to Magny Cours next weekend again in second place chasing the championship lead, separated from Haga at the top by a mere three points, with four races and hundred possible points still on the table.

Circuit Name: Imola Circuit Length: 4959 m Opened 1953 Lap Record: 1'50.266 (Alex Barros, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'47.735 (Michel Fabrizio, 2009)

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