Everywhere for Germany, Spain … and Australia !
Yesterday was the World Superbike event in San Marino. Gathered on the Misano circuit, the Superbike and Supersport pilots had to brave scorching temperatures but offered us a superb show.. Report and videos…
This weekend on the Misano circuit, the small and serene Republic of San Marino hosted the pilots of the Superbike and Supersport world championships. And it is under oppressive heat (more than 30 ° in the air and 50 ° on the track) that the kings of standard bikes – almost – competed in tenacity to try to win…
On Saturday, during the Superpole event, Troy Corser (Yamaha Italia) climbed alone in front of a veritable armada of Ducati and signed the 42nd pole of his career! The Australian beats his compatriot Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) by one hundredths, Ruben Xaus (Ducati Go Eleven) by almost two hundredths and four hundredths – at this level, it’s starting to do! – Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox).
The second line is 100% transalpine with the 1098 RS of Max Biaggi (Ducati Go Eleven), Lanzi (Ducati RG) and Jacob Smrz (Ducati Guandalini) as well as the ZX-10R of Regis Laconi (Kawasaki PSG-1) which carries exceptionally the San Marino colors of his team !
In third row is Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki Alstare), followed by Bayliss ‘two main rivals in the championship: Max Neukirchner (Suz’ Alstare) and Carlos Checa (Honda Ten Kate). Makoto Tamada (Kawa PSG-1) completes the row.
We have to wait for the 4th rank to see the name of the double Nurburgring winner: Noriyuki Haga (Yam ‘Italia) who ranks 14th behind his great friend Yukio Kagayama (Suz’ Alstare). David Checa of team GMT94 will start from 18th place and his teammate Sebastien Gimbert from 21st.
In Supersport, Broc Parkes (Yamaha World SSP) achieved his 4th pole of the season and relegated Andrew Pitt (Honda Ten Kate) to more than four tenths! Behind the two Australians is our national Fabien Foret (Yam ‘World SSP) and the British Craig Jones (Honda Parkalgar).
In second row are three Australians and one English: Joshua Brookes (Honda Stiggy) is ahead of Jonathan Rea (Honda Ten Kate) – that’s him, the British -, Russel Holland (Honda Althea) and Marc Aitchison (Triumph Italia BE1).
This is followed by the GSX-R of Barry Veneman (Suzuki Hoegee) and the three CBRs of Joan Lascorz (Honda Glaner), Matthieu Lagrive (Honda Intermoto Czech) and Vesa Kallio (Honda Benjan). Gregory Leblanc on his Honda CRS Grand Prix will start from the 25th position.
First Superbike race
Bayliss double Corser in the very first meters. He was joined under braking by Xaus in his private Ducati. Behind, Biaggi lodged inside Corser and took 3rd place by plunging into the second corner. In the Curva Del Rio, Kawasaki PSG-1 Corsica slips off the track: Laconi retires !
In front, Bayliss and Xaus are still leading in front of Biaggi joined by Fabrizio, the 2nd official Ducati rider! But the latter is doubled in the Querica by Nieto’s Suzuki. When braking on the angle of Tramonto, It’s Xaus who manages to surprise Bayliss. The Spaniard takes the lead ahead of Bayliss, now trapped by Biaggi, Nieto, Fabrizio, Corser, Neukirchner and Kagayama.
At the 1st passage on the line, four 1098 are in the first four places: Xaus leads in front of Bayliss, Biaggi and Fabrizio! Next came the GSX-R from Nieto, the R1 from Corser and the two other Gex from Neukirchner and Kagayama.
Behind, a fifth 1098 (that of Lanzi) rolls in front of the first two CBRs of Checa and Muggeridge and the first ZX-10R of Tamada. Haga is only 19th, neck and neck with the only Frenchman on the track: Sebastien Gimbert !
With his contract with BMW in hand (read), Ruben Xaus has nothing to lose and begins to distance himself from his three Ducati colleagues. They did not take long to react: Biaggi passed Bayliss in the braking preceding the Curva del Carro ! Fabrizio pretends to attack Bayliss in his turn, but has to lodge under the pots of No.21 to start the 3rd round.
The race seems well and truly underway with Xaus firmly established in the lead and Biaggi, Bayliss and Fabrizio who are fighting to take 2nd place. Corser is content for the moment to observe and the hunting quartet gradually distance the rest of the peloton.
In the baptized break – rightly so – Curvone Veloce, Fabrizio manages to overtake his teammate. The latter, surprised by this superb and unexpected attack, was again overwhelmed a few meters further by Corser, braking the Curva del Carro !
Up front, Biaggi applies himself and grabs the lead that Xaus had built in the first three laps. Fabrizio is getting closer, as are Corser and Bayliss! We then learn that Rolfo and Kiyonari are forced to make a pit stop for early departure…
At the very start of the 5th lap, Michel Fabrizio overtook Max Biaggi in the first chicane. The Italian public is in for a treat! Discreetly, Max Neukirchner managed to bring back the leading group: "I was patient and just pulled up the peloton and once at the forefront I knew I could win", will relate later the German who points for the moment in 6th position.
The end of this lap is particularly agitated, Biaggi being the main responsible: he tries to overtake Michel Fabrizio in the last right-hand corner of the circuit, goes out too wide but keeps enough gas to pass his compatriot again … Then comes out too wide again and is overtaken by Michel and Troy Corser !
The situation becomes somewhat clearer in the short straight: Xaus has taken back a few meters from Fabrizio, Corser, Biaggi, Bayliss, Neukirchner and Nieto who also goes back to the front. Haga is far from it: the double winner of the Nurburgring is in 16th position !
In the 7th lap, Makoto Tamada who was in 9th place in the race made a mistake. There is only one Kawa left on the track: Badovini’s in 16th place, who will abandon ten laps later. In this same lap, Corser climbs on the 2nd step of the podium and goes hunting for Xaus….
However, from the 8th lap, the Yam ’n ° 11 manages to take the rear wheel of the Ducati n ° 111! Not far behind, Fabrizio did his best to keep up with the frantic pace of the two leading men, but the front end of his Ducati jerked. At the exit of Querica, Michel must even let Biaggi pass !
But in Tramonto, the Italians slightly off the optimal trajectory are both overtaken by Troy Bayliss! Simultaneously, Corser attacks Xaus in the Curva Veloce but the Ducati comes out better and immediately recovers its 1st place..
In the last sequence of the 10th lap, a Suzuki slips: it is that of Fonsi Nieto who leaves his 7th place to Lanzi. "Starting from the 3rd line is always a problem and you have to attack hard to catch up with the leaders", will be sorry the Spanish."It was only a small fall and I was able to start again immediately but it ruined my chances of getting a good result", concludes Fonsi who will finish 12th in the race and put on harder tires in the second run..
Neukirchner, on the other hand, is still racing on the handlebars of his Gex n ° 76. The young Max has been in the old man’s wheel for a few laps and passes him on the 11th lap. Behind the "Max Brothers", Fabrizio follows a few lengths while Lanzi and Checa do their best to get back to the leading group. Straight ahead, Xaus remains in the lead but the crocodile Corser is tucked under his pots, ready to attack.
In third position, Bayliss used the entire width of the track and came back to the leading duo. The No.21 Australian leaves Neukirchner and Biaggi to explain themselves. In the tight right after the Curva Del Rio, Bayliss is widening and must pass Neukirchner under acceleration. At the same time, two motorcycles lying on their sides slip through the gravel: Fabrizio and Biaggi are on the ground !
The two Italians must give up to the chagrin of the tifosis … Michel will immediately apologize to the Roman Emperor who last year had himself taken Haga off the track! Valentino Rossi, present on the scene on both occasions, must certainly be laughing.
Lorenzo Lanzi inherits 5th place and Carlos Checa 6th. At the halfway point, Xaus leads just in front of Corser, Neukirchner is 1 second away and Bayliss still has 8 tenths to catch up on the young German..
Unlike Corser, who seemed to save himself to jump to the top step of the podium at the end of the race, Jacob Smrz put him in the best lap times and hit Carlos Checa and Lorenzo Lanzi who were soon to regroup! Always very quick in qualifying, the Czech has yet to improve early in the race…
At the 14th passage of the Curvone Veloce, Troy Corser is finally taking action and taking control of the race! While the Australian manages to get out of reach of the Spanish, the latter is joined by the German Neukirchner…
When braking Tramonto, the Suz ’# 76 overtakes the Ducati # 111 and instantly climbs behind the Yam’ # 11. In the next lap, Neukirchner took the lead and tried to outrun his two direct rivals … but failed to do so. !
Behind, Troy Bayliss managed to get rid of Lanzi. The Italian, on the other hand, still has Checa and Smrz in his wheel and the final promises at all levels! We are five laps from the end and Neukirchner and Corser are still very close to each other. Behind, Checa passed in front of Lanzi and Smrz in turn threatens the n ° 57 !
In the 20th lap, a new battle begins between the first two Ducatis on the track: the n ° 111 of Xaus and the n ° 21 of Bayliss! It is when braking the large hairpin Querica that the double champion passes the "single" champion: Bayliss is on the podium.
"We had chosen a hard compound thinking it would be fine but I struggled the entire race. I couldn’t do anything against Neukirchner and Corser who had a great race", declared the n ° 21, who will start in the second round armed with the soft rubber…
In front, Corser seemed unable to outflank Neukirchner and even lost several lengths at the end of the 22nd lap. In the last two laps, the gaps are maintained: Neukirchner is inaccessible, Corser keeps a good length of his compatriot Bayliss and Xaus can not get back on the official Ducati.
Very efficient to get back up on Lanzi, Smrz came up against Checa who kept his 5th place until passing under the checkered flag despite the upheavals – the famous "chattering… – of his CBR1000RR. Note the beautiful 9th place of Shinichi Nakatomi on his R1, which is a few tenths ahead of his compatriot Noriyuki Haga, and the new point scored by David Checa, courageous driver of the GMT94 team.
First round SBK Misano:
| Pilot | Team | Time | Tours | |
| 1 | Neukirchner M. | Suzuki alstare | 39 ‘27.918 | 24 |
| 2 | Corser T. | Yamaha Motor Italia | + 0.542 | 24 |
| 3 | Bayliss T. | Ducati Xerox | + 2,249 | 24 |
| 4 | Xaus R. | Ducati Sterilgarda Go Eleven | + 3.028 | 24 |
| 5 | Checa C. | Honda Hannspree Ten Kate | + 5.408 | 24 |
| 6 | Lanzi L. | Ducati RG Team | + 5.518 | 24 |
| 7 | Smrz J. | Ducati Guandilini | + 6.202 | 24 |
| 8 | Lavilla G. | Honda Ventaxia VK | + 18,279 | 24 |
| 9 | Nakatomi S. | Yamaha YZF | + 19,072 | 24 |
| 10 | Haga N. | Yamaha Motor Italia | + 19,132 | 24 |
| 11 | Kagayama Y. | Suzuki alstare | + 28,098 | 24 |
| 12 | Nieto F. | Suzuki alstare | + 34,385 | 24 |
| 13 | Aoyama S. | Honda Alto Evolution | + 34,572 | 24 |
| 14 | Kiyonari R. | Honda Hannspree Ten Kate | + 34,902 | 24 |
| 15 | Checa D. | Yamaha France GMT 94 | + 39,979 | 24 |
| 16 | Gimbert S. | Yamaha France GMT 94 | + 44,669 | 24 |
| – | Laconi R. | Kawasaki PSG-1 Corsica | – |
Superpole: 1 ‘35.993 – Corser – Yamaha
Best round of the round: 1 ‘37.694 – Smrz – Ducati (13th lap)
Best lap in previous race: New route
Supersport Race
As in Superbike, it is the rider in 2nd position on the grid who gets the best start: Pitt takes the lead in the race ahead of Parkes, Jones and Brookes..
From the second curve, Fabien Foret hardens his situation: he widens and joins the bulk of the peloton rather than taking the wheel of his opponents in the championship…
"This morning our settings were good but it was a little harder this afternoon. I think the motorcycle was sensitive to heat", will explain our champion (of the world Supersport 2001). But his biggest concern is of course his mishap from the first chicane:"in traffic we are slowed down and after that, it is hard to find a good rhythm".
Marc Aitchison for his part does not keep his 5th position for long: in the break Curvone Veloce, the Briton is attacked by Jonathan Rea. Surprised, disappointed, distracted? In any case, the Briton temporarily left his inner footrest then his saddle, and had to let Jonathan Rea and his CBR pass. Just behind the two Englishmen are Lascorz, Veneman and the guest pilot Marrancone.
By the end of the first lap, Parkes has already widened a half-second gap over Pitt, Jones and Brookes. During this time, Fabien Foret must make his way through the peloton: he is 15th behind his – our! – compatriot Matthieu Lagrive.
In the second lap, Joshua Brookes lost the lead and let the top three, led by Parkes’ gloves, slip away. "I don’t want to blame anything in particular but we made changes to the gearbox after the warm-up and the bike became more difficult to ride", Josh will regret at the end of the race he will finish in 14th place.
A few seconds later, Daniello Marrancone was the victim of an unfortunate lowside … He left his 10th place to Yam ’44 of Salom. Finally, Fabien Foret and his official Yamaha n ° 99 will take 10th place at the end of this eventful lap. Russel Holland, new to the category in the Althea team, does not have the opportunity to cross the timing line a second time: he goes highside on the last corner !
And the carnage of the second round continues as Lascorz, Salom and Lagrive double the number of falls in one fell swoop! It’s hard, especially for Matthieu who hits Salom, two weeks after being taken out by Robbin Harms at the Nurburgring…
"I got off to a good start and in the 2nd lap I was behind Foret, so I intended to follow him", will note the malicious Spanish before relating the unfortunate accident:"suddenly Lagrive passed me but he fell and hit my motorcycle. I couldn’t avoid the fall".
In the 3rd lap, it was the German Tode who made a mistake and had to retire. In front, considerable gaps are already widened between the first five drivers. Fortunately, Pitt seems able to go find his compatriot Parkes to spice up the race. !
In 6th position, Veneman and his Gex have a lot to do to ward off the attacks of Harms and his CBR. But the real danger comes from Fabien Foret and his R6 who are in 8th place and nibble meter after meter the advantage of their opponents.
After getting rid of Robbin Harms while braking Tramonto, Fabien Foret takes advantage of the break Curvone Veloce to pounce on Veneman and take 6th place! Unfortunately, the podium is still 8 seconds away, and the victory is 10 !
This victory is now envisaged by two pilots: Parkes and Pitt! In the 7th lap, the two aussies found themselves wheel to wheel and the Englishman Jones took 3rd position, 2 seconds behind the leaders. Jonathan Rea is 4th at more than 6 seconds and Aitchison 5th at 8 seconds.
Two laps later, a new fall is to be deplored: that of Broc Parkes! While he has just been passed by Andrew, the Yamaha rider loses the front in the Curva del Carro and slides off the track without damage.
"We got off to a good start and did a few laps together but I didn’t want to drag Pitt into my breakaway. Then on the last stretch of the 9th lap I fell while releasing the brakes. I thought it was just a small loss from the front but by the time I went around I was already on the ground", will sum up the n ° 23, who starts again in 12th position … And offers the n ° 88 of the Ten Kate team a great opportunity to increase his lead in the championship !
Craig Jones thus climbs on the 2nd step of the podium, completed by a second British: the young Jonathan Rea, teammate of the leader Andrew Pitt! At the controls of his Daytona 675, a third Englishman occupies 4th place but sees the official Yam ‘n ° 99 return to his pots. !
At the halfway point, Pitt increased his lead over Jones to 3 seconds. Unable to get the third CBR – that of Rea – Aitchison cannot avoid the return of the R6 of Fabien Foret. Once again, the Yam ‘impresses with its stability in the – excessively – fast break of Curvone Veloce and Foret took the opportunity to grab 4th place !
Alone in the lead, Andrew Pitt posted excellent lap times which allowed him to further increase the lead he had over Craig Jones. In the 15th lap, it is 3.6 seconds and it is difficult to see the victory escaping the leader of the championship…
Within 10 seconds of Pitt is still Rea and Foret at almost 14 seconds slowly relieves himself of Aitchison on which Harms climbs back up. Behind Roccoli is fighting against Veneman, a few meters ahead of Clementi. Gregory Leblanc is 22nd, battling Dell’Ormo, Alfonsi, Branetti and Gowland.
In the 16th lap, Robbin Harms passed Marc Aitchison who tried to recover his 5th place in the chicane but did not succeed: the fairings brushed against each other but the CBR and the Daytona remained on their wheels! In the next round, Parkes snatched Harms his 10th place in Curvone Veloce but the Australian will not be able to dislodge Clementi who is 5 seconds away.
The end of the Supersport race is exceptionally calm: Pitt flies towards his 2nd consecutive victory (his 3rd of the season), Jones is a straight line behind the leader but almost the same gap separates him from the 3rd Rea. As for Fabien Foret, he must once again be content with 4th place !
Then Robbin Harms and Marc Aitchison finished in the same hundredth, far ahead of Roccoli, Veneman, Clementi and Parkes. Gregory Leblanc crosses the finish line in 22nd place, 49 seconds behind the winner but only 9 behind the first point snatched by Marrancone.
"I am very happy to win this race"exclaimed Pitt who expected a much more intense battle …"We had a good pace and when Broc (Parkes) didn’t want to stay ahead of the race, he didn’t have to offer it to me twice. Then he made a mistake and he fell: I finished my race comfortably and I won it", simply develops the pilot Ten Kate.
In the championship, Andrew Pitt is now 16 points ahead of Fabien Foret (113 points against 97) and 26 over Broc Parkes (87 points) who steals his 3rd place from Josh Brookes (85). Lagrive meanwhile fell from 9th to 13th position…
Among manufacturers, Honda increases its lead to 40 points against Yamaha (165 against 125), the two Japanese being very far ahead of Triumph (48 pts), Suzuki (36) and Kawasaki (35).
SSP Misano race:
| Pilot | Team | Time | Tours | |
| 1 | Pitt A. | Honda Hannspree Ten Kate | 37 ‘08.387 | 22 |
| 2 | Jones C. | Honda Parkalgar | + 5.347 | 22 |
| 3 | Rea J. | Honda Hannspree Ten Kate | + 9.183 | 22 |
| 4 | Drill F. | Yamaha World Supersport | + 13,784 | 22 |
| 5 | Harms R. | Honda Hannspree Stiggy | + 15,863 | 22 |
| 6 | Aitchison M. | Triumph Italia BE1 | + 15,967 | 22 |
| 7 | Roccoli M. | Yamaha World Supersport | + 21,689 | 22 |
| 8 | Veneman B. | Suzuki RES Software Hoegee | + 24,070 | 22 |
| 9 | Clementi I. | Triumph Italia BE1 | + 26,075 | 22 |
| 10 | Parkes B. | Yamaha World Supersport | + 30,387 | 22 |
| 22 | Leblanc G. | Honda CRS Grand Prix | + 49,431 | 22 |
| – | Lagrive M. | Honda Intermoto Czech | – | 2 |
Pole: 1 ‘39.398 – Parkes – Yamaha
Best lap in the race: 1 ‘40.187 – Parkes – Yamaha (3rd lap)
Best lap in previous race: New route
2008 SSP World Drivers Ranking:
| Pilot | Team | Points | |
| 1 | Pitt A. | Honda Hannspree Ten Kate | 113 |
| 2 | Drill F. | Yamaha World SSP | 97 |
| 3 | Parkes B. | Yamaha World SSP | 87 |
| 4 | Brookes J. | Honda Hannspree Stiggy | 85 |
| 5 | Lascorz J. | Honda Glaner Motocard.com | 81 |
| 6 | Jones C. | Honda Parkalgar | 80 |
| 7 | Rea J. | Honda Hannspree Ten Kate | 67 |
| 8 | Harms R. | Honda Hannspree Stiggy | 50 |
| 9 | Roccoli M. | Yamaha Lorenzini | 34 |
| 10 | Vizziello G. | Honda Berry Racing | 33 |
|
25 |
Leblanc G. | Honda CRS Grand Prix | 5 |
Second Superbike race
Once again, the No.21 Ducati takes off better than the No.11 Yam ‘but it is ultimately the No.111 Ducati which takes the lead as it enters the first corner. In the chicane, Xaus keeps the lead in front of Corser while Biaggi doubles Bayliss !
Then it was Fabrizio’s turn to overtake his two-time world champion teammate. Laconi also tries to slide his Kawa ’in front of the official Ducati, but the Frenchman has to let go under the acceleration. Behind our national n ° 55 are Kagayama, Nieto and Haga much better off than in the 1st heat.
In Curvone Veloce, Xaus and Corser intersect but the Spaniard emerges from the break still in the lead! Xaus therefore completed the 1st lap in the lead just ahead of Corser and Biaggi. Fabrizio is several lengths in 4th position but suddenly his 1098 loses speed and lets Bayliss slip away! The Italian coasts the straight and has to retire.
As a result, the top three have a small lead over Bayliss who are pushing ahead and pulling away from the peloon led by the 4-cylinder Kagayama, Haga, Laconi, Nieto and Neukirchner. But very early in the 2nd round, Nitro Nori passes in front of his great friend Yukio, determined to improve his performance in the 1st round…
Unfortunately for him, a red flag interrupts the second round and all the drivers are forced to return to their pits … Fabrizio for his part is in heaven: he will be able to start again !
Second departure:
The pilots leave for 24 laps! And for the third time, Troy Bayliss steals 1st place from his namesake Troy Corser. The No.21 Ducati took the lead ahead of the No.3 Ducati and the No.11 Yam. But in the 2nd corner of this first chicane, Corser manages to execute a superb exterior on Biaggi and comes out of the Variente del Parco in 2nd position !
Soon after, it was Xaus’s turn to overtake Biaggi. Then the Spaniard moved inside Corser who had to rule out but managed to stay ahead of Biaggi anyway. Behind the two duos, Nieto leads in front of a supercharged Lanzi, Laconi, Fabrizio, Haga and Kagayama.
Just before crossing the stopwatch line for the first time, the hot Lanzi took 5th place. Very quickly, Lanzi broke away from the peloton and approached Biaggi who brought up the rear in the leading group led by Bayliss. Between the two, Corser passed in front of Xaus … But the race has only just started again !
In the 3rd lap, Tamada falls again. In front, Corser tries to change his trajectories compared to those of Bayliss but can not try anything. Behind them just a few lengths away, three private Ducatis do not miss a beat of the show: Xaus and Biaggi are soon joined by Lanzi !
Two seconds from the Top5, Nieto must face the return of Haga who has just got rid of Fabrizio. The Suzuki of Neukirchner and Kagayama are 9th and 10th, ahead of Kawasaki of Laconi and Honda of Carlos Checa. Little brother David on his R1 n ° 94 is 18th, four places ahead of his teammate Sebastien Gimbert.
In the lead, the Troy War continued and turned in favor of Corser just before entering the 5th lap. The war of the private Ducatis of the Go Eleven team too: Biaggi remains glued to Xaus, even manages to pass him in front of him for a few moments but does not manage to stay in front of his teammate…
Behind, another fight is in preparation: Nitro Nori climbs like an arrow on Lanzi who is definitely not able to gain the last few meters which would allow him to lodge in the aspiration of the black Ducatis of No 111 and No 3…
In the 7th lap, Noriyuki Haga easily overtakes Lorenzo Lanzi and continues his ascent unabated: next stage: the Ducati de Biaggi! In front, Troy Corser isolated himself half a second from Troy Bayliss and the two Australians have a lead of almost two seconds over Xaus and Biaggi.
In just two laps, Haga finds himself under Biaggi’s pots: the Italian warns by his panneur – or warns by the roars of the R1? – reacts and puts the pressure on Xaus. At the halfway point, the two leaders have a comfortable lead over their three pursuers..
It was at this point that Xaus set his best time in the race and separated slightly from Biaggi who himself fell behind by the Italian. Far behind, it is the turn of Fabrizio and his official Ducati n ° 84 to threaten Lanzi and his private Ducati n ° 57.
In the 15th lap, Sebastien Gimbert then penultimate (20th) was forced to retire. After his brake pedal problem in the 1st heat which prevented him from driving 100%, a new mechanical problem is definitely plaguing the Frenchman’s race: "the most probable hypothesis would be an electronic failure on the Yamaha number 194. Sebastien was not rewarded for his efforts and the whole team is disappointed for him as he gave this weekend", will relate the official website of Christophe Guyot’s team…
In front, Bayliss takes the lead but Corser is very far from giving up the gas … But the fight between the two Troys mainly benefits Ruben who climbs a second behind Corser! Eight laps from the end, Bayliss, Corser and Xaus follow each other, leaving Biaggi and Haga isolated in 4th and 5th place.
In the next lap, Xaus goes on the attack: glued to Corser’s rear wheel from the start of this 18th loop, it is finally in the braking of Tramonto let the Ducati n ° 111 dive inside the Yam ’n ° 11! Bayliss gained a few meters … which Xaus took from him in the next lap.
Bayliss turned to find that his direct rival is no longer Corser but Xaus. Will he change his trajectories or his pace according to these new parameters? Obviously not … Bayliss always comes out of his turns as wide as Xaus keeps his 1098 on a much tighter trajectory. But the second method is the best !
Five laps from the end, Xaus found himself in Bayliss’ wheel, followed by Corser. Biaggi has just stepped up his pace and could well be on the podium … But the most impressive one is undoubtedly the 2009 BMW rookie: Xaus brakes at Bayliss in Querica and take control of the race.
The victory seemed to be promised to one of the two Troys, and yet it is indeed Ruben who is leading this second round! Corser, who has never won with Yamaha before, overtakes Bayliss in the Curva del Carro… but on the next brake, his rear wheel sweeps the track and the Australian has to raise his Yam ’. Troy C. shoots straight into the gravel pit and will only get back to the track after his teammate Haga has passed. !
This mishap obviously benefits Bayliss and Biaggi who are almost guaranteed to finish on the podium, but especially Xaus, who is one second ahead of the other two Ducatis with four laps from the end of the race..
A superb fight opposes Bayliss and Biaggi but a slip to the acceleration on the part of Troy B. cut – too – short in the confrontation. The Australian momentarily slips off the track, in the same spot as Corser on the previous lap, and the factory Ducati definitely gives up on the two private Ducatis of the Go Eleven team.
There are now three laps to go. Xaus is still a second ahead of 2nd (Biaggi) and almost three over Bayliss. Haga is in 4th place, ahead of his teammate Corser. Lanzi, Neukirchner, Carlos Checa, Fabrizio and Smrz follow. GMT94’s David Checa fights Nakatomi for first point.
On the last lap, the gaps between the three leading Ducatis widened and only the two official Yamaha came together. Ruben Xaus crosses the finish line on a wheelie ahead of teammate Max Biaggi and official driver Troy Bayliss.
Finally, Haga was able to keep his 4th place to the end against Corser, Lanzi is 6th over 13 seconds and the winner of the 1st round, Max Neukirchner, is relegated to 15 seconds in 7th position ahead of Checa, Smrz and Nieto.
"Once again I have to take my hat off to the guys in front of me, Ruben and Max, who did a fantastic job.", recognizes Bayliss himself when getting off his 1098 F08! In his turn, Ruben Xaus pays homage to Bayliss:"today’s victory is special for me: I fought against the pilot who taught me the most", testifies the Spanish.
For his part, Max Biaggi does not forget to thank the Italian public and in turn congratulates his teammate Xaus as well as their team Go Eleven who achieves the double … and even the treble counting the victory of Alex Polita in Superstock 1000 !
The most French of the Spaniards – David Checa from GMT – fails in 16th place: "David confirmed to us as he got off his machine that he was still apprehensive about a possible fall. From July, David will be able to mentally break free, his hip injury will be a thing of the past and falling will no longer be a drag", hopes the French team which leaves San Marino with a new point and high hopes for the future…
In the provisional standings, Bayliss (259 points) manages to slightly increase its lead: it is 49 points. With his victory in the 1st round, Max Neukirchner goes 2nd with 210 points ahead of Carlos Checa (207) and the two Yamaha riders: Haga and Corser (191 and 185 pts respectively).
On the manufacturer side, Ducati took advantage of his treble in the second round to widen the gap over Yamaha: the Bologna firm totaled 323 points against 284 for that of Hamamtsu. Behind, Suzuki (257pts) distance Honda (226) while Kawasaki’s counter remains stuck at 64 points.
Next meeting of the World Superbike: July 20 in Brno, Czech Republic. Stay connected !
Second round SBK Misano:
| Pilot | Team | Time | Tours | |
| 1 | Xaus R. | Ducati Sterilgarda Go Eleven | 39 ‘19.710 | 24 |
| 2 | Biaggi M. | Ducati Sterilgarda Go Eleven | + 1,035 | 24 |
| 3 | Bayliss T. | Ducati Xerox | + 4.158 | 24 |
| 4 | Haga N. | Yamaha Motor Italia | + 5.466 | 24 |
| 5 | Corser T. | Yamaha Motor Italia | + 6.759 | 24 |
| 6 | Lanzi L. | Ducati RG Team | + 13,468 | 24 |
| 7 | Neukirchner M. | Suzuki alstare | + 15,221 | 24 |
| 8 | Checa C. | Honda Hannspree Ten Kate | + 16,687 | 24 |
| 6 | Smrz J. | Ducati Guandalini | + 17,030 | 24 |
| 10 | Nieto F. | Suzuki alstare | + 17,681 | 24 |
| 11 | Fabrizio M. | Ducati Xerox | + 21,356 | 24 |
| 12 | Kagayama Y. | Suzuki alstare | + 28,676 | 24 |
| 13 | Kiyonari R. | Honda Hannspree Ten Kate | + 31,304 | 24 |
| 14 | Lavilla G. | Honda Ventaxia VK | + 32,339 | 24 |
| 15 | Nakatomi S. | Yamaha YZF | + 33,716 | 24 |
| 16 | Checa D. | Yamaha France GMT 94 | + 34,171 | 24 |
| – | Gimbert S. | Yamaha France GMT 94 | – | 14 |
| – | Laconi R. | Kawasaki PSG-1 | – | 5 |
Superpole: 1 ‘35.993 – Corser – Yamaha
Best round of the round: 1 ‘37.580 – Corser – Yamaha (3rd lap)
Best lap in previous race: 1 ‘37.694 – Smrz – Ducati (2008)
2008 SBK World Drivers Ranking:
| Pilot | Team | Points | |
| 1 | Bayliss T. | Ducati Xerox | 259 |
| 2 | Neukirchner M. | Suzuki alstare | 210 |
| 3 | Checa C. | Honda Hannspree Ten Kate | 207 |
| 4 | Haga N. | Yamaha Motor Italia | 191 |
| 5 | Corser T. | Yamaha Motor Italia | 185 |
| 6 | Nieto F. | Suzuki alstare | 151 |
| 7 | Xaus R. | Ducati Sterilgarda Go Eleven | 148 |
| 8 | Biaggi M. | Ducati Sterilgarda Go Eleven | 117 |
| 9 | Fabrizio M. | Ducati Xerox | 111 |
| 10 | Kiyonari R. | Honda Hannspree Ten Kate | 94 |
| 17 | Laconi R. | Kawasaki PSG-1 Corsica | 36 |
| 23 | Checa D. | Yamaha GMT94 | 7 |
| 24 | Gimbert S. | Yamaha GMT94 | 7 |
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