WSBK – Haga takes the reins of the championship! – Second Superbike race

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Haga takes the reins of the championship !

WSBK - Haga takes the reins of the championship! - Second Superbike race

Noriyuki Haga brilliantly took over from Troy Bayliss on Sunday at Phillip Island and if Ben Spies was surprised in the first round, he largely caught up in the second … In Supersport, Sofuoglu won ahead of two Australians !

Second Superbike race

Frustrated by his first race among the world’s elite, Ben Spies proved intractable at the start of the second round. Max Biaggi himself, while he has just completed the holeshot at the controls of his RSV4, suffers from an improbable exterior in the second corner !

This time, the Yamaha n ° 19 "transforms" its pole and takes the lead of the race. Aprilia n ° 3 is not left out since Max Biaggi, who ensures "having faced greater risks than others"in the first heat because of a bouncy motorcycle, opted for a softer front tire and clings to his 2nd position. But for how long ?

The Suzuki, on the other hand, did not hook up the right wagon … Max Neukirchner in particular found himself stuck in traffic and was handicapped by a more nervous GSX-R than in the first round: "I lost three seconds on the leading group and I couldn’t catch them", will explain the n ° 76.

Carlos Checa for his part deluded the first three laps by riding with his young teammate Johny Rea. But without respect for his elder brother, the young Irishman quickly got rid of the Spaniard, who invoked a flagrant lack of grip on the angle and finished the race in a disappointing 13th place..

For their part, the two official Ducatis did not miss their start: Haga engages in a superb fight against Spies, and Fabrizio remains only a few lengths behind his compatriot Biaggi … The tifosis no longer feel joy. !

Author of a superb 6th place in the first round, Leon Haslam and his Stiggy team have made some changes which seem beneficial to the Honda n ° 91: the young Englishman is behind Michel Fabrizio and is less than two seconds behind Haga installed in the lead.

As for Regis Laconi, he separates slowly but surely from Rea, Nakano, Neukirchner and Smrz. So much so that halfway through the race, the blue Ducati n ° 55 nestles in the wheel of the multicolored Honda n ° 91 and never leaves it..

On Ducati also but much less in verve, Shane Byrne – alias the boss of the tests of Portimao – falls again in the race and does not register any points this weekend. "At least I understood how fiercely contested the World Superbike is, especially in the early laps", will positively the two-time English champion who can do much better !

Noriyuki Haga, on the other hand, has perfect control of his mount and the race while behind him, Spies waits: "I stayed as close as possible to him while waiting for his grip level to drop". But it is only four laps from the end that the American will go on the attack…

Behind, Biaggi manages to follow but can not try anything: "during the last ten laps my tires were flushed and I did everything I could to stay on the podium", will affirm the Roman Emperor. But Fabrizio destroys the hopes of Biaggi in the 17th round.

The last three laps see Spies ringing the final charge: Haga tries to stay in contact and the leading duo separates definitively from their four companions. The triple American champion, on a cloud, sticks three tenths of a second in the lap to the Japanese behind him and crosses the finish line with more than a second in advance !

Ben Spies scores his first points in the world championship (25 at once!) While Noriyuki Haga pockets 20 more, taking the lead of the provisional classification (with 45 points) ahead of Max Neukirchner (30) and rookie Leon Haslam (26).

Because the young Honda rider did very well at the end of the race: he doubled down Biaggi then Fabrizio and climbed on his third podium in the SBK World Cup. "I’m so happy ! It’s our first outing and we’re leaving with a podium, it’s fantastic"Leon will rejoice.

Behind, no Aprilia! As Haslam slipped inside Fabrizio braking the Honda hairpin, Laconi instantly duplicated the attack on Biaggi. And in the next turn, it was Fabrizio’s turn to be overtaken by our French driver…

Biaggi, surprised by this attack, tangles his brushes, straightens his motorcycle, avoids Laconi’s rear wheel and leaves the track only to come out in 15th position. "At least I got a point, but I deserved more", will rightly declare the n ° 3.

Regis is delighted with his 4th place: "given the few tests we were able to do this winter, it’s a dream weekend that I have just experienced thanks to the Ducati, my team and Daniele Carli, my team manager to whom I am addressing my warmest thanks", will testify the French.

Next meeting on March 14 in Qatar … Stay tuned !

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