WSBK – SBK Nurburgring: Rea confirms, Haga is back! –

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SBK Nurburgring: Rea confirms, Haga returns !

WSBK - SBK Nurburgring: Rea confirms, Haga is back! -

This weekend, the Mondial Superbike and Supersport riders were fighting at the Nurburgring! In SBK, Jonathan Rea confirmed his great form and Noriyuki Haga put on the show … and the victory in the second round! In Supersport, the duel between Laverty and Sofuoglu intensifies, refereed by the talented rookie Gino Rea…

This weekend, the Mondial Superbike and Supersport riders were fighting at the Nurburgring! In SBK, Jonathan Rea confirmed his great form and Noriyuki Haga put on the show … and the victory in the second round! In Supersport, the duel between Laverty and Sofuoglu intensifies, refereed by the talented rookie Gino Rea…

First Superbike race

Biaggi took advantage of his pole position – and a usual "Pedrosa-style" take-off – to take control of the race in the acceleration phase. However under braking, Rea goes inside the Roman while Checa makes him outside! Haga joins the party and overtakes Max in the first corners. Guintoli then occupies 5th place.

Behind unfortunately, Corser and Haslam fall and their incident requires the intervention of doctors. The race continues a short lap but the red flag is waved … Fortunately, the two men get up and join the pits.

Back in his paddock, Leon takes out some ice packs and puts them on his right hand. Will the 2nd driver in the championship have to forfeit? No, a few minutes later Haslam took to the track, gritting his teeth…

The second start is given: Biaggi is surprised by Checa under braking … and Jonathan Rea comes out of nowhere to seize the lead of the race at the exit of the first corner. Haga is again 3rd ahead of Sykes, Haslam, Crutchlow, Toseland and Biaggi only 8th.

Further in the peloton, Corser slips inside Guintoli and cup him towards the outside: the two men must leave the track, the Frenchman’s hopes are ruined … Our n ° 50 rejoins the track at- beyond the Top 15…

In front, Rea increases his lead over Checa who is increasingly threatened by Haga. The Japanese ended up overtaking the Spanish in the 4th round and now pouncing on the Irish! Nitro Nori is back ?! Crutchlow, 4th, manhandles his R1 to join the leading trio.

Last of the Top 5, Sykes does justice to his ZX-10R and withstands the incessant assaults of Fabrizio. Hot boiling, the n ° 84 overdoes it on its official Ducati and falls in the first corner losing the front. The way is clear for his compatriot Biaggi.

The fight intensifies between Checa and Haga: the two Ducatists cross their paths and cannot decide between themselves, which is not to displease the fastest man on the track, Jonathan Rea! His Honda n ° 65 flies over the track in the lead and has on the 5th lap almost 2 seconds ahead.

Poor Sylvain Guintoli fights and struggles in the heart of the peloton. At the end of the first quarter of the race (which has 20 laps), the Frenchie rolls in 12th place. Syl ‘and his Suz’ drive a good half a second faster than its direct competitors: how far will it go? ?

Just before starting the 8th lap, Noriyuki Haga spreads over the German tarmac. His front Pirelli didn’t hold up in a big curve to the right. # 41 must retire…

Meanwhile, Johnny continues his effort at the front of the race, just like Max who rolls in 4th position. Tom Sykes is 5th 10 seconds behind Rea. Behind the Kawa ‘, Haslam must suffer more and more: his pursuers Xaus and Byrne grab him several tenths per lap and soon join him.

At the halfway point, our favorite Sylvain is in 9th place and turns at the same time as a certain Max Biaggi! The French are 3 seconds behind his teammate Leon, Ruben and Shane who are fighting for 6th place. Eight laps will be enough for Guintoli to join this fight ?

The five leading pilots, on the other hand, are very far from each other but the spectacle remains beautiful. Each in their own style, the men of Superbike make the most of their different mounts. A notable fact: the seven manufacturers are in the first seven places.

We find, 5 laps from the end and in order: Honda’s CBR1000RR, Ducati’s 1198, Yamaha’s YZF-R1, Aprilia’s RSV4, Kawasaki’s ZX-10R, Suzuki and the BMW S100RR from BMW !  

On the 17th lap, Xaus managed to brake on a Haslam, which was doubtless greatly reduced by its collision at the very start of the race. Byrne is not far … and Guintoli too! The n ° 50 rolls half a second faster than his opponents and can claim a 7th or even 6th place. In the second round, the tamer of Gex will be able to aim for the podium.

At the very end of the race, Checa and Biaggi did not let go of the pressure on Rea and Crutchlow. But the two Britons control the gap – and their bikes – to perfection. Order is maintained until the finish line: Jonathan Rea wins his 4th victory of the season.

Carlos Checa, the best Ducati rider again, finished in a good 2nd place, far ahead of Cal Crutchlow and his official Yamaha. Max Biaggi secures 4th place (and their corresponding 13 points) ahead of reckless Tom Sykes and his Kawasaki.

Leon Haslam crossed the finish line in a courageous 6th place, just ahead of Ruben Xaus, Sylvain Guintoli and Shane Byrne. In the championship therefore, Max Biaggi accentuates his lead "only" by 3 small points: 386 points for the Aprilia rider against 323 for the Suzuki rider..

Supersport Race

Laverty takes the reins of the race, just ahead of Gino Rea, Broc Parkes, Kenan Sofuoglu, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Chaz Davies, Fabien Foret, etc. Matthieu Lagrive and his Triumph are in 14th place. At the end of the first loop, Sofuoglu climbs in 3rd position, and Foret in 6th !

One lap later, Fujiwara overtook his new team-mate Parkes – replacing the unfortunate Lascorz – and went hunting for the three leading Honda, who were left behind despite everything. Laverty, Rea and Sofuoglu are clearly above the rest and quickly isolate themselves to compete for the three places on the podium.

More than five seconds behind the CBRs – in the 6th lap – the three Kawasaki ZX-6Rs roll in the same second: Katsuaki Fujiwara leads the charge while Fabien Foret puts pressure on Broc Parkes.

Four seconds later, Davies and his Triumph are riding a lonely 7th place, while his teammate Salom has to defend against the Honda of Roccoli and Pirro. Our Frenchie Matthieu Lagrive and his Daytona 675 gradually raise the tone and are in 11th place.

At the forefront, the parade of CBR600RR continues: n ° 50 ahead of n ° 4 and n ° 54 throughout the first half of the race. All three men apply, especially Eugene and Kenan who play the championship. Only Gino the outsider allows himself some inconclusive eccentricities.

Matthieu Lagrive falls shortly after the halfway point … Our only representative on the track then becomes Fabien Foret, who is at the head of the Kawa ‘hunting group! The n ° 99 is 4th but is eight seconds behind Laverty. Moments later, moreover, Fujiwara made a mistake and allowed Roccoli and his pursuers to gain a place in the standings..

With nine laps to go, Laverty and Rea pick up the pace and separate from Sofuoglu. One loop later, the Turkish is already one and a half second behind the Irish and English. At ten seconds are Foret and Parkes, and at twenty seconds are fighting – like ragpickers! – Salom, Davies, Roccoli and Pirro.

The laps follow one another but Rea struggles to find the breach in Laverty … Gino looks like he is shifting to the ends of the straights but cannot really threaten "Youjine". Suddenly, four laps from the end, Kenan Sofuoglu reappears under Rea’s pot! The end of the race promises to be more lively than expected…

Behind the three men, Fabien Foret is still fighting against Broc Parkes. The two Kawasaki riders roll wheel to wheel and delight the German public. Three laps from the end, the Australian overtook the French. Show level nevertheless, Salom, Davies Roccoli and Pirro ensure the maximum !

In front, Kenan surprises with his irregularity … Two laps before the checkered flag, the n ° 54 is again left behind by more than 2 seconds by his Honda colleagues: Laverty has just launched the final charge and grabs a few lengths to the youngster – younger at least – Rea…

But the English rookie hangs on and almost manages to do the Irish brakes at the end of the home straight! Shoulder to shoulder, the two Britons whip their CBRs and their Pirelli as in the middle of a qualifying session! Eugene Laverty must give everything to get ahead of Gino Rea to the checkered flag.

Kenan Sofuoglu has to be satisfied with 3rd place and his 16 points. Fabien Foret, returned to 4th in the last laps, made a small error in the trajectory, climbed on a vibrator and had to let Broc Parkes pass. Davies finally takes 6th place

In the championship, the Turkish driver is only 8 points ahead of Laverty … The last two races at Imola and then at Magny-Cours will be decisive !

Second Superbike race

Max Biaggi makes the holeshot when the lights go out but Haga and Checa are better at taking the brakes! Behind the Spanish, Japanese and Italian hides the Irish Rea, winner of the 1st round a few hours earlier.

Johnny does not stay behind for long: after a few turns, Honda n ° 65 overtakes Aprilia n ° 3 and follows in the footsteps of the two Ducatis in the lead. Author of an average start, Guintoli finds himself 8th behind Crutchlow, Sykes and Haslam.

The first three laps are led by Carlos Checa, but Noriyuki Haga remains glued to his rear wheel and Jonathan Rea picks them up quickly. Max Biaggi on the other hand can not keep up with the tempo imposed by the three leading men and must now be wary of Cal Crutchlow.

At the start of the 4th lap, Nitro Nori took control of the race. The n ° 41 cannot, however, be separated from his two pursuers. In the next loop, Rea widens considerably at the end of the straight, trying to overtake Checa and loses precious lengths on his two comrades.

Just behind, just two seconds away, Crutchlow took 4th place from Biaggi and left the Roman Emperor to explain himself to Leon Haslam, his great rival in the championship! In 7th position is our national driver Sylvain Guintoli.

At the start of the 7th loop, it was Biaggi’s turn to slip up on the brakes at the end of the straight line: Haslam did not hesitate and jumped to his 5th place then passed Crutchlow to take 4th place! Leon is three seconds from the podium but does not turn fast enough to get on it … The Suzuki rider can only hope for a mistake on the part of the men in front.

Haga, Checa and Rea are driving very hard: they don’t hinder each other and have the best lap times in the race. Nitro Nori is the fastest, forcing Carlos and Johnny to step up. But the n ° 7 is the first to crack: he loses the front of his private Ducati and gives up…

Thus, Haslam is rewarded for his efforts and climbs on the podium! However, a second half of the race awaits him: with Crutchlow on his back and Biaggi and Guintoli a few lengths away, this end of the race promises to be trying..

Alone on the track 10 seconds behind Haga, Tom Sykes occupies a good 7th place. He keeps his distance from the peloton where the fight is raging: Toseland, Xaus, Smrz, Byrne and Corser fight in the same second for 8th place !

With six laps to go, Haga drives home the point and relegates Rea to over a second and a half. Checa on the ground, the Irishman has the opportunity to consolidate his 3rd place in the championship: will he let Haga go to victory, his second only of the season? ?!

The battle for the 3rd step of the podium is much more animated: Haslam clings to it but Crutchlow is very aggressive and Biaggi and Guintoli are lodged in their aspirations. Four laps remain to go and anything can happen !

In front, Noriyuki moves further and further away from Jonathan. The n ° 65 of the Ten Kate team did not however give up: to see the kicks of his Honda, he continues to attack like a deaf person !

Behind them, Leon Haslam is holding out against Cal Crutchlow, Max Biaggi and Sylvain Guintoli. So that the No. 35 Yamaha could not attempt any attack on the Suzuki No. 91. The same goes for Aprilia n ° 3 and Suz ‘n ° 50: all are on the cleat !

The last lap was just a formality for Haga, who took victory on the handlebars of his official Ducati, almost four seconds ahead of Rea. The third step of the podium finally goes to Leon Haslam, ahead of Max Biaggi and Sylvain Guintoli.

Max Biaggi is therefore preparing to land at his home in Imola with a 58-point lead in the championship. To win his fifth world crown – his first in the World Superbike -, the Aprilia rider must not give up more than 8 points to Leon Haslam … See you in three weeks in Italy !

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