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Bench Racing: 2009 World Superbike

From: WorldSBK

Smrz ends SpiesÔÇÖ Superpole record at Misano

crash.net: Spies ÔÇô I wouldnÔÇÖt have beaten Smrz

crash.net: Fabrizio confident, Haga fairly happy

motorsport.com: Ducati Saturday notes

motorsport.com: Yamaha Saturday notes


WSBK rd. 8, San Marino, Italy, final qualifying

20 June 2009 16:49
2009 Superbike World Championship
Round 8, Misano, Italy
Final qualifying, Saturday 20th June
Conditions: Overcast, rain showers 21C.

TROY FASTEST IN THE WET.
After yesterdayÔÇÖs scorchingly hot temperatures, today dawned overcast and dull and when final qualifying began rain showers had soaked the track. Despite little or no information about a wet set-up, Troy and Ruben got into the damp groove
superbly and, at the end of the final qualifying session, Troy topped the standings, with Ruben seventh quickest.

But by the time Superpole qualifying started, conditions were once again dry, though the clouds were still casting deep shadows over the 4.226 kilometre circuit. Superpole 1 went well for Troy and he easily qualified for Superpole 2, but a clutch problem prevented him from lapping quickly enough to get into Superpole 3 and any chance of getting on the first two rows of the grid were gone. Ruben ended Superpole with the 18th fastest lap and will start from fifth row of the grid behind Troy on row four. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) took Superpole, with a time of 1:35.435, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) second, Ben Spies (Yamaha) third and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) fourth.

Troy - 15th, 1:36.994
If it hadnÔÇÖt been for the clutch problem, I think I could have got into Superpole 3 and that would have meant a start on the
first two rows of the grid. ItÔÇÖs just unfortunate that the problem happened because we were so close to getting our best
Superpole result so far, but thatÔÇÖs racing. But the good news is that IÔÇÖm pretty happy with how the bike is working and how
itÔÇÖs handling the bumps here. I think weÔÇÖve got reasonably good set-ups for both dry and wet races, though I guess most of
us would prefer it to be dry tomorrow.

Ruben - 18th, 1:37.300
Normal practice and qualifying has been good and the bike is working better here than it was in USA and it shows we are
making progress. The only thing that let us down today was Superpole and we are just not experienced enough with the
qualifying tyres to find really good set-ups for this particular situation. On race tyres, I am happy and I think we are pretty
close to the pace. It is a shame that we were not able to test qualifying tyres in the winter tests because that would have
given us some experience about what to do during a race weekend, but thatÔÇÖs the way it is. My grid place is a bit of a
nightmare and I need to get a couple of good starts and not get held up in the early part of the race if I am to get good
results

Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director)
Considering the difficult conditions in regular qualifying this morning, Troy did fantastically well to top of the standings, with
Ruben in the top seven. It shows that, despite a lack of wet weather information, we were able to be on the pace in these
conditions. Troy was unlucky with his clutch problem in Superpole. We suffered once again from a lack of experience with
qualifying tyres, as it seems that our bike needs a very different set-up to when it is on regular race rubber. We were so
close to the first two rows of the grid today, but I am sure that it will not be long before we manage it.

Results
1 Smrz (CZE-Ducati) 1:35.435, 2 Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:35.609, 3 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:35.631, 4 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati)
1:35.811, 5 Byrne (GBR-Ducati) 1:36.224, 6 Haga (JPN-Ducati) 1:36.277, 15 Troy Corser (AUS-BMW Motorrad
Motorsport) 1:36.994, 18 Ruben Xaus (ESP-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:37.300

TROY FRUSTRATINGLY CLOSE TO FRONT TWO ROWS.

Troy easily qualified for Superpole 2 today, but a small clutch problem prevented him from lapping as quickly as he had done in Superpole 1 and he lost the chance of getting on the first two rows of the grid.
He was forced to nurse the clutch lever more than usual and could not lap fast enough to qualify for Superpole 3.
It was frustrating and came after a superb final qualifying session this morning that saw him top the standings in difficult conditions. Just before final qualifying began, rain showers hit the 4.226 kilometre circuit, but Troy mastered the tricky conditions and set the fastest lap of the session at the same time.
Jakub Smrz (Ducati) took Superpole, which took place it dry conditions, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) second, Ben Spies (Yamaha) third and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) fourth.

Troy - 15th, 1.36.994
That was a close one! So near to our best qualifying this season and then an unfortunate problem, but I guess most problems are unfortunate. After Superpole 1, I felt confident that I would do well in Superpole 2 and then get in to Superpole 3, but it wasnÔÇÖt to be and it was a real shame.
However, we have a pretty good set-up for either dry or wet conditions, though I think most people would prefer dry races tomorrow. I have been having massages on my right shoulder and strapping on my left hand and I feel in better condition than in the last race in USA. Starting from the fourth row is never easy, but weÔÇÖre a bit used to it now and I have shown that I can get good results from that far back before and thatÔÇÖs what IÔÇÖll be aiming for tomorrow.
See ya,
Troy

Final Qualifying Results


1 Smrz (CZE-Ducati) 1:35.435, 2 Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:35.609, 3 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:35.631, 4 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:35.811, 5 Byrne (GBR-Ducati) 1:36.224, 6 Haga (JPN-Ducati) 1:36.277, 15 TROY CORSER (AUS-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:36.994


Next Race




Rider /Team Sites
Troy Corser ÔÇô BMW ÔÇô 11
Ruben Xaus ÔÇô BMW ÔÇô 111
Ben Spies ÔÇô Yamaha ÔÇô 19
John Hopkins ÔÇô Honda


BMW
BMW Motorrad Motorsport
11 - Corser Troy
111 ÔÇô Ruben Xaus

APRILIA
Aprilia Racing
3 - Biaggi Max
56 - Nakano Shinya

DUCATI
DUCATI Xerox Team
41 - Haga Noriyuki
84 - Fabrizio Michel
DFX Corse
55 - Laconi R?®gis
Team Guandalini Racing World Superbike
24 - Roberts Brendan
96 - Smrz Jakub
Team Sterilgarda
53 - Polita Alessandro
67 - Byrne Shane

HONDA
HONDA World Site ÔÇô world site
Honda Racing UK
Althea Racing HANNspree Honda
33 - Hill Tommy
Ten Kate Racing HANNspree Honda
7 - Checa Carlos
9 - Kiyonari Ryuichi
65 - Rea Jonathan
Pro Ride Superbik
Stiggy Racing Honda
91 - Haslam Leon
John Hopkins
Squadra Corse Itlalia
77 - Iannuzzo Vittorio

KAWASAKI
Kawasaki Road Racing
Paul Bird Motorsport
23 - Parkes Broc
100 - Tamada Makoto
PSG ÔÇô 1 Corse
86 - Badovini Ayrton
Team Pedercini
25 - Salom David
99 - Scassa Luca

SUZKI
Suzuke-Racing
Alstarre Suzuki
71 - Kagayama Yukio
76 - Neukirchner Max
Celani Racing Team
31 - Muggeridge Karl
TKR Suzuki Switzerland
88 - Resch Roland

YAMAHA
Yamaha World Superbike Team
19 - Spies Ben
66 - Sykes Tom
Yamaha GMT94 Ipone
94 - Checa David
MG Competition

Dropped riders
36 - Lavilla Gregorio
15 - Baiocco Matteo
 
From: WorldSBK
Misano Race Results
Spies and Rea split WSBK wins at Misano World Circuit
Today, June 21, 2009, 4 hours ago | julian.thomas@infrontsports.com (Julian Thomas)
Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) scored the two wins in a memorable day of racing at the Misano World Circuit in Italy. In front of 65,000 spectators Spies took his eighth seasonal win in the first race, while Rea grabbed his maiden Superbike win in the second. The Ducati Xerox pairing of Michel Fabrizio, third and second in the two races, and Noriyuki Haga were also key players in the day's action, and the Japanese rider now has a 48 point lead over Spies and 55 over his team-mate.

Race 1

Spies scored the win in the first race of the day, held in flag-to-flag conditions, which saw the riders starting on a wet track but taking the flag in the dry. Half-way through the 24-lapper, which had been totally dominated by Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati), the entire field started to pit to change bikes and tyres. Spies was the rider who judged things to perfection, the Texan immediately finding the right pace in the dry and going on to win by almost 8 seconds from Byrne. Third place saw a fantastic scrap, with Fabrizio making his 1098 machine as wide as possible on the final lap to hold off the rapidly catching poleman Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati). Fifth place went to Haga, who limited the damage on a track that is not one of his favourites, the Japanese rider passing his compatriot Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) in the final stages. Rea was the first Honda to the flag in a race that saw him start from the back of the grid and pick up a ride-through penalty. Tenth place went to Superbike rookie Matthieu Lagrive (Honda Althea), behind Shinya Nakano (Aprilia), while team-mate Max Biaggi was in difficulty in these conditions and could only finish 13th.

Ben Spies: "It was a hard one, we knew from the start it was going to get dry and in that first half hats off to Shakey, he rode great. I had the feeling in the rain that I wasn't quite happy but I tried as hard as I could to stay close to Michel. My box showed me that some riders were starting to come in for a change so I said that it was time to get in now. It was a hectic race, pretty eventful, not a great race but I was happy to pull this one off."

Shane Byrne: "That was a fantastic race. It's a shame it didn't stay wet for a little bit longer because I had a really big lead at one point. I wasn't sure what to do with the tyre situation and all the time the lead was going up, and I didn't know whether to stay out or not. I switched bikes with about seven laps to go and the first two laps were really difficult. Ben had done a couple more dry laps than I had, he passed me and there was no way I was going to get him. It was a fantastic result for the team at their home circuit, they've all worked really hard."

Michel Fabrizio: "That's not a bad result, it was a great battle with Jakub for the final podium slot. When I saw that on the big screen that he was getting closer and closer, I knew that I had to invent something special on the last lap. I was unable to find the best possible feeling immediately with the dry tyres and I slipped back a bit but I've had a lot of bad luck in recent years at Misano so I'm very happy to get onto the podium."

Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 45'02.773 (135,093 kph); 2. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 7.931; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 11.836; 4. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 11.886; 5. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 31.670; 6. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 33.241; 7. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 35.772; 8. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 41.931; 9. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 51.507; 10. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 59.921; 11. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'04.285; 12. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'04.313; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'19.822; 14. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'22.412; 15. Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'31.635; 16. Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'39.830

Race 2

The second Superbike race saw talented young Brit Jonathan Rea take his first ever win after a spectacular scrap with Fabrizio that set the last laps of the race alight. The final podium slot went to points leader Haga, who took advantage of Spies' second race mishap, the Texan only managing ninth after being slowed by a clutch issue. Smrz picked up another fourth place after passing Carlos Checa (Honda) on the final lap as the Spanish rider's tyres went off. Byrne was once again up amongst the front-runners and he finished the second race in sixth place. The first Yamaha to the finish was the R1 of Tom Sykes, seventh ahead of Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda). The Aprilias of Biaggi and Nakano both finished in the points, together with the Suzukis of Kagayama and Nieto, while Xaus and Corser (BMW) and Parkes and Hacking (Kawasaki) all failed to finish in the top 15.

Jonathan Rea: "To win my first race in Italy here is really special for me before my home round next weekend at Donington. As everybody's aware we switched suspensions, and tried them for the first time on Monday at Magny-Cours and the team all did a marvelous job to get me to win the race here so this is really special for them as well. I got settled into my own rhythm and Michel came past but he couldn't outbrake me and that spared my bike from doing all the running. I could pass where I wanted to pass and I saved it to the last lap. I'm really over the moon with the win!"

Michel Fabrizio: "In race 2 I didn't have a perfect feeling with the front and Rea's Honda accelerated better out of the corners than me. It's a pity I didn't win today but two podiums are my best result on this track and knowing that I did my best makes me happy. I'm just a few points behind Spies in the table and maybe I can start thinking about the title now although I realize that to be a serious candidate I have to keep on getting good results and even win a few races".

Noriyuki Haga: "Race 2 was much better than the first one: I got a good start but then Johnny and Michel passed me and it was hard to keep their pace, maybe because they're much younger than me! Seriously though we have taken home some good points and that's important because Misano is not one of my favourite tracks. Now I'm looking forward to racing at Donington where in recent years I've always had good results."

Results: 1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 39'11.204 (155,293 kph); 2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 0.063; 3. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 0.457; 4. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 3.635; 5. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 4.460; 6. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 4.538; 7. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 12.679; 8. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 12.763; 9. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 13.237; 10. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 14.412; 11. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 20.073; 12. Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 20.239; 13. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 22.351; 14. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 24.547; 15. Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 24.696; 16. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 25.615

Points (after 8 of 14 rounds): 1. Haga 292; 2. Spies 244; 3. Fabrizio 237; 4. Rea 167; 5. Biaggi 135; 6. Haslam 134; 7. Sykes 130; 8. Checa 109; 9. Smrz 108; 10. Kiyonari 98. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 351; 2. Yamaha 287; 3. Honda 240; 4. Aprilia 142; 5. Suzuki 128; 6. Bmw 62; 7. Kawasaki 41

BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORTS
2009 Superbike World Championship
Round 8, Misano, Italy
Sunday 21st June
Crowd: 65,000 (3-day)
Conditions: Race 1 - Wet, then dry 18C. Race 2: Mostly dry, 26C.

RUBEN LEADS, THEN LOSES OUT IN THE DRY.

The first race at Misano today saw the riders line up on a soaking wet track with all of them on full wet tyres. But with conditions rapidly changing, and the prospect of World SuperbikeÔÇÖs first ever ÔÇÿflag-to-flagÔÇÖ race in the offing, all the teams had spare bikes, shod with slicks, at the ready in the pit-lane for a changeover when the track dried out.

BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Ruben Xaus took advantage of the tricky conditions and charged his way up from 18th on the grid to first place and led the race with just seven laps to go. But when he changed bikes, he was adjudged to have exceeded the pit-lane speed limit and he was given a ÔÇÿride-throughÔÇÖ penalty. He fought his way back into the race and ended 14th. TroyÔÇÖs race was over before he could even start. An electronic problem on the warm-up lap caused a highside and he crashed out, fortunately without doing further damage to his injured right shoulder.

Ben Spies (Yamaha) won the 24-lapper, with Shane Byrne (Ducati) second and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third.

Race two started in the dry and, apart from a few spots of rain, continued to remain a dry race. Ruben finished just out of the points in 16th, but ended lapping in similar times to the leaders. Troy had inconsistency problems with his S 1000 RR, but kept going as hard as he could and ended 19th. Jonathan Rea (Honda) had a race long battle with Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), but held them both off to record his maiden WSBK victory.

Ruben - Race 1: 14th, Race 2: 16th

It felt really good leading the race, knowing that I was beating all the guys who were all on exactly the same tyres as me. I felt comfortable in the damp conditions and if the track had stayed wet, maybe we couldÔÇÖve done something that wouldÔÇÖve surprised everybody. But unfortunately for me, the track dried and we all had to come in and jump on to our spare bikes - with dry tyres. Our pit box is quite close to the pit-lane exit, so I didnÔÇÖt think I had gone faster than the limit, but I got a ride-though penalty and that was enough for us to lose a top place. ItÔÇÖs always difficult knowing when to come in and change bikes, but this was a first for all of us and something weÔÇÖll have to get used to. In race two, I decided to adapt my riding style to the bike and I learnt a lot in that race and was happy because, at the end, I was lapping as quickly as the top guys.

Troy - Race 1: DNS, Race 2: 19th

Well that was a day to forget for me and a shame because Friday had gone so well and I felt that we were getting somewhere. I was highsided on the warm-up lap and weÔÇÖre not sure why, but we think it was some sort of electronics problem. I didnÔÇÖt open the throttle dramatically, but suddenly the bike just went faster and spat me off. Luckily I didnÔÇÖt do any further harm to my shoulder, but my race was over.

In race two, the bike felt kind of inconsistent and I wasnÔÇÖt confident what it was going to do every time I entered or exited the corners. I could have pulled in, but I kept going because I knew that every lap I stayed out would give the team more information to work with. ItÔÇÖs been a frustrating day for me and the team, but I am sure we will have a better weekend in Donington.

Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport)

After the positive start on Friday, and all the changes, we were hoping for better results - especially as the technical aspects were going in the right direction. Our Superpole was not so successful and we were a bit confused in the first race. We have to find the reason for TroyÔÇÖs crash, but we will do so. We had some exciting moments when Ruben was leading, but maybe we made a tactical mistake by changing bikes a bit too late. It was unfortunate that Ruben got a ride-thorough for speeding in pit-lane because that ruined what couldÔÇÖve been a good result.
Race two was disappointing, but at the end of it we saw that Ruben could lap as fast as the front guys. WeÔÇÖre not sure why Troy struggled with the behaviour of his bike, but itÔÇÖs something that we will have to investigate. We didnÔÇÖt detect any problems in practice, but weÔÇÖll analyse all the data and make the necessary changes to carry on improving.

Race 1
1 Ben Spies (USA-Yamaha); 2 Shane Byrne (GBR-Ducati); 3 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati); 4 Jakub Smrz (CZE-Ducati); 5 Noriyuki Haga (JPN-Ducati); 6 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki); 7 Jonathan Rea (GBR-Honda); 8 Tom Sykes (GBR-Yamaha); 9 Shinya Nakano (JPN-Aprilia); 10 Matthieu Lagrive (FRA-Honda) ... 14 Ruben Xaus (ESP-BMW Motorrad Motorsport), Troy Corser (AUS-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) DNF

Race 2
1 Jonathan Rea (GBR-Honda); 2 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati); 3 Noriyuki Haga (JPN-Ducati); 4 Jakub Smrz (CZE-Ducati); 5 Carlos Checa (ESP-Honda); 6 Shane Byrne (GBR-Ducati); 7 Tom Sykes (GBR-Yamaha); 8 Leon Haslam (GBR-Honda); 9 Ben Spies (USA-Yamaha); 10 Max Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) ..16 Ruben Xaus (ESP-BMW Motorrad), 19 Troy Corser (AUS-BMW Motorrad)

Championship points: 1 Haga 292; 2 Spies 244; 3 Fabrizio 237; 4 Rea 167; 5 Biaggi 135; 6 Haslam 134; 7 Sykes 130; 8 Checa 109; 9 Smrz 108; 10 Kiyonari 98 ... 11 Kagayama 91 ... 14 Neukirchner 75 , 16 Ruben Xaus (ESP-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 42 ,17 Troy Corser (AUS-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 36
 
Corser's Blog

Misano Adriatico (San Marino) - Race: MORE FRUSTRATION FOR TROY IN MISANO
June 20, 2009

The eighth round of this yearÔÇÖs Superbike World Championship at Misano was another weekend of frustration and disappointment for Troy. He didnÔÇÖt even get to start the first race, due to highsiding on the warm-up lap, and struggled with his bike in race two and ended 19th. Ben Spies (Yamaha) won the rain-affected first 24-lapper, with Shane Byrne (Ducati) second and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third. Race two started in the dry and, apart from a few spots of rain, continued to remain a dry race. Jonathan Rea (Honda) had a race long battle with Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), but held them both off to record his maiden WSBK victory. Troy - Race 1: DNS, Race 2: 19th Well thereÔÇÖs not that much to say really, except that I am very disappointed with how today went, especially as the signs had been good on Friday. The first race was a disaster because I didnÔÇÖt even get to start it! I do not know why I highsided, but it happened quickly and without any warning and I hadnÔÇÖt even got on the gas. It was a good thing I didnÔÇÖt hurt my shoulder, because thatÔÇÖs the side I fell down on and the last thing I wanted was more injury. My bike didnÔÇÖt feel right in race two and I didnÔÇÖt know what it was doing in the corners or when I got on the gas. It felt nervous, but I carried on because I knew that the data guys would want me to keep going if I could. WeÔÇÖre going to have to sit down and work out whatÔÇÖs happening and find some solutions pretty soon, but there is no reason why we will have these problems in Donington. I am hoping for better things there and getting back to the kind of results we had earlier in the year.
 
Bump

:blush
I posted the Misano evening updates in the F1 thread by mistake. Therefore; some of you may have missed them.

Thanks to Statdawg for pointing this out. :wave
 
From: WorldSBK
Another bitter-sweet weekend for Spies at Misano

crash.net: New milestone, but overall disappointment for BMW

WSBK round 9: Donnington, Great Britain, preview

2009 Superbike World Championship
Preview: Round 9, Donington, GB, 28th June

RUBEN AND TROY IN A POSITIVE MOOD AHEAD OF DONINGTON.

Round nine of this yearÔÇÖs Superbike World Championship takes place at Donington Park, GB and hopefully the weather will be better than last year when rain effected both races and caused many retirements. The 4.023 kilometre circuit hosted the first ever WSBK race back in 1988 and is currently undergoing several modifications for the F1 race in 2010.

At the moment, Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport are not having a good run of luck, though Ruben Xaus leading in the damp at Misano last weekend provided the team with a ray of sunshine, in what became a difficult weekend. But, with Misano just a memory, itÔÇÖs time for Ruben and Troy to think ahead, get back to business and battle for the top ten once more this weekend.

Ruben
It was a great feeling leading a race last weekend, even though the final result was not the best. Last FridayÔÇÖs practice in Misano was definitely a positive day for us and it is a pity that the weather did not allow us to continue our progression on Saturday and Sunday.

But we learnt a lot more about the bike and have some ideas about what has to be done. Unfortunately, having another race so soon does not give our team enough time to prepare some solutions and new ideas and we will have to use Friday afternoon to try out many things. But thatÔÇÖs the way it is at the moment and it is up to me and Troy to do the best we can and think positively about the way ahead.

Troy
The best thing I can do is forget Misano and concentrate on Donington and thatÔÇÖs what I am doing. Crashing out before the first race in Misano was very unfortunate because I think I wouldÔÇÖve managed OK in the wet on the bike. Donington is a tough track and itÔÇÖs certainly going to give us something to think about, especially in the first two sessions. We have a lot of work to do, as usual, but if we can get a good set-up early on and qualify better in Superpole, then we can chase a far more positive result.

2008 results
Race 1: 1 Bayliss (AUS-Ducati), 2 Sykes (GBR-Suzuki), 3 Biaggi (ITA-Ducati), Ruben Xaus (ESP-Ducati) DNF, Troy Corser (AUS-Yamaha) DNF,
Race 2: 1 Kiyonari (JPN-Honda), 2 Crutchlow (GBR-Honda), 3 Troy Corser, 8 Ruben Xaus,
 
From: WorldSBK

Statistics: from Misano to Donington
British WSBK invasion returns home for Donington round
A look back at Donington – the last 2 editions

superbikeplanet.com: Wood joins Spies in World Superbike
Spies fans should not overlook this seemingly minor team story. I have been asking you to look at BMW from a team manager perspective several times. These are the type of moves front runner teams make to find the extra tenths that make a difference in championship standings. Surrounding Spies with people familiar with him helps the team translate his rider input into better bike set up. At least that is the hope.

This also points to an empty spot in BMWs bag of tricks (assuming they have one). There are no go to mechanics to help them. Neither rider comes with a four cylinder background that lends itself to this strategy. The pressure remains on the ability of team management to pull their existing team together to overcome their problems.

crash.net: Spies returns to scene of MotoGP debut

motorsport-magazin.com: Superbike outing of aces

Live Timing Notes:

Ben Spies led the Friday practice round for today’s qualifying round at the Donington round of WSBK. Yamaha and Ducati riders controlled all but two of the top 10 times with Haslam and American Hopkins on Hondas being the only other riders able to break through. During the final 20 minutes of the session Haslam was Spies most serious challenger for the top spot. The two traded several top times. Camier, who was not on my radar at all broke through in the final minutes to take the second slot form Haslam.

Current series leader Haga was back in P11. This may bode well for Spies to gain ground on his rival but Fabrizio third in the standings was 4th fastest in this session.

BMW appears to have made no progress in the week between Misano and Donington. Xaus in 15th was faster than Corser in 19th. Xaus at his best was 1.576 seconds of Spies pace.

Aprilia riders dropped down in the timing also. Nakano 12th topped Biaggi 14th but was 1.209 seconds behind the top time.

The Ducati and Yamaha marques dominate the top 10 but the sub text of rider nationality played out with GBR riders taking five of the top ten spots in practice. With 31 bikes in the field for qualifying track familiarity and traffic will play a big role in Friday’s results.

Xaus and Corser look to be able to advance to Superpole qualifying. With a track record of showing their best early and falling off as the qualifying progress they don’t appear to be set to advance very far in the Donington Superpole hunt.

With a full field the race should provide many interesting duels for fans to watch. Practice times suggest race front runners will run into back markers around lap 15 or 16. Even with blue flag help this will slow them a bit and may work to give a tighter fight for podium positions.

The trouble with this for BMW is it means more fighting to hold position instead of fighting to advance. Practice and qualifying times are based on flying laps and give no indication of BMWs progress in getting the bikes standing start launch problems under control. This could compound their problems with advancing during Sunday’s races.

574497892_i2kzt-L.jpg



Look for Friday qualifying results latter today.
 
Friday 1st Qualifying Session

Notes:
I was late to turn on live timing for this session and was very surprised to see Ruben Xaus leading the field at the 45 minute remaining mark. With only six laps in and a time of 1:48.686 I knew everyone was still in warm up mode and that standing wouldnÔÇÖt last. In a few ticks of the clock the majority of riders were show as PIT IN confirming my suspension. It was fun to see none the less. Xaus improved his time to 1:47.426 before heading to the pits himself. Corser was motoring around in the 1:49s and in 15th at the same time.

35 minute mark
Just before the half hour mark Xaus was still in first with Spies just behind him with a 1:48.242. Dang I have to answer the door.

The door didnÔÇÖt have anything to say to me but our delivery driver on the other side prattled on about a dirt bike his is thinking about buying for his son.

When I returned Xaus was fourth. The best time had dropped into the 1:45 range still well off Spies 1:30.962 in practice. Teams work on last minute adjustments right up to the last few minutes flurry of fast laps. The wait for that is agonizing as you wonder what and how bikes and riders will sort themselves out then.

Just before the 15 minute mark Fabrizio took the times into the 1:30s with a 1:31.832. Corser had moved ahead of his teammate but was 1.093 of the leaders pace. At this point both were in the window to advance to Superpole. Will they stay there?

Spies set a 1:31.540 at the ten minute mark just as someone accidently unplugged our wireless router. DonÔÇÖt people understand crunch time is coming and I have important things to do here?

Back on at the 8 minute mark. Corser and Xaus are 16th and 17th respectively and dropping toward the Superpole bubble.

5 Minutes remaining
Fabrizio tops Spies with a 1:31.100. 9 riders a below Spies best warm up time. Xaus moves up Corser maintains.

Friday ÔÇô Qualifying 1st Session Results
 
2009 Superbike World Championship
Round 9, Donington Park, GBR,
Friday qualifying, 26th June
Circuit: 4.023 kms. Conditions: Dry, then damp 21C.

TOUGH START FOR RUBEN AND TROY.

Ruben and Troy finished 17th and 20th in a tough qualifying at Donington today, but the lap times are close and a fraction of a second less wouldÔÇÖve placed Ruben in the top ten. The untimed first session took place in the dry, but the second (timed) session started with a damp track, causing many riders to wait and see if conditions improved. The track did dry out and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) took provisional pole, with Leon Haslam (Honda) second, Ben Spies (Yamaha) third and Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) fourth.

Ruben - 17th, 1:32.186
Before we werenÔÇÖt able to go fast in the wet, but today I was leading the standings for quite a long time. Then, when the track dried I was overtaken, but the lap times are close and I am happy because I went one second a lap faster here today than I did last year. At the moment, I can get down to quite a good lap time without too much of a problem, but when I want to faster, it is hard to do so. Troy, I and the team are working our hardest and we just need to find that next step up to be more competitive. I am convinced that this bike has potential and it will be great once we can show it.

Troy - 20th, 1:32.476
You cannot just ride this bike, you have to think it and work at it. I can get to a point fairly easily, but then it is a struggle to go just that bit faster. ItÔÇÖs not a new problem, but itÔÇÖs just something that we have to work on and improve if we want to be challenging more easily for the top ten. ItÔÇÖs kind of frustrating, because we are not that far off and if we can just make that small leap, weÔÇÖll be able to fight for the top ten again.

Friday qualifying
1 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:30.775, 2 Haslam (GBR-Honda) 1:31.191, 3 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:31.294, 4 Lavilla (ESP-Ducati) 1:31.401, 5 Byrne (GBR-Ducati) 1:31.436, 6 Camier (GBR-Yamaha) 1:31.454, 17 Ruben Xaus (ESP-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:32.186, 20 Troy Corser (AUS-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:32.476,

Donington, UK - First qualifying: TROY DISAPPOINTED ON DAY ONE
Thursday, June 25, 2009, 7:00:00 PM

The variable conditions in qualifying didnÔÇÖt help but, all in all, it was a difficult time for Troy this afternoon in Donington. In the end, he finished 20th fastest, but he is looking forward to tomorrow, making some changes to the set-up and then, improvement. The first session took place in the dry, but the second (qualifying) session started with a wet track. Many riders chose to wait for the track to dry rather than put in a large number of laps in the damp conditions. When the track did dry out, Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) took provisional pole, with Leon Haslam (Honda) second, Ben Spies (Yamaha) third and Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) fourth. Troy - 20th, 1:32.476 A bit of a problem today and a bit frustrating because I can get to a certain level without too much of a problem, but then it is difficult to go faster. At the moment, I feel that pushing the bike is harder work than it should be and itÔÇÖs difficult to get comfortable and go faster. The bikeÔÇÖs rear is spinning a lot and that means we canÔÇÖt get good grip. If we could solve that problem, weÔÇÖd be able to go a lot faster for sure. The bike has good power and itÔÇÖs just a case of finding a way of using it the way we want. The potential is there, we just have to unlock it and that takes time and experience.


From: WorldSBK

worldsbk.com: Qualifying 2nd Session

crash.net: Fabrizio leads Ducati Xerox 1-2 after Q2

Superpole to come
 
From: WorldSBK

Superpole 1

Bikes head out on the track for the first session.

First times post and the leader is Rea with a 1:30.767. Xaus posts a 1:31246 and Corser a 1:31.567 for their first times.

Spies takes over the lead with his first lap time of 1:30.401. Haga posts a 1.30.687 then ducks back into the pits.

5 minute mark Spies is Smrz Sykes top thre Corser is at the bottom and Xaus in P12. Riders begin hitting the pits for the last stop

1 minute
Corser shows a lap time of 1:30.754 and moves up to P7 while Xaues is dropping into knock area as the chequered flag for this Superpole session falls.

Biaggi in his last hot lap steals this session pole from Spies. Corser finishes this session in P11 and Xaus sneaks through to Superpole 2 in P16.

575236265_mgHUa-O.jpg


Superpole 2

Riders and bikes head out onto the track and duck back in to the pits at the beginning of the session without showing a lap time. Once again warm up and adjustments take up the first minutes of the session.

First times posted are in the 1:30s for the leader with Haga set the first fast lap 1:30.0911. Spies counters with a 1.29.766, the first to break into the 1:29s.

With 5 minutes remaining in this session it does not look like either BMW will advance to Superpole 3.

American rider Hopkins has not taken to the track yet to post a lap time. No idea what his problem is. Now he is out and sets his first lap time achieving P12.

At the one minute mark Spies is on top and the BMWs are on the bottom.

Fabrizio takes top session honors from Spies with his last lap. Championship point leader Haga is back in P7. Corser and Xaus finished in P 15 and 16 respectively and will not advance.

575236286_5ey3B-O.jpg


Superpole 3

Biaggi throws down the first benchmark time for the session of 1:30.080. Spies complets his first timed lap and drops the benchmark to 1:29.846. Fabirzio and Haga are back in 5th and sixth at this point.

Smrz in P eight and almost 5 seconds off the pace ducks in to the pits. ???

3 minutes remaining ÔÇô everyone is shown in the pits. The order is Spies, Biaggi, Bryne, Nakano , Fabrizio, Haga Checa and Smrz at this time. None returned to the tack and that is how the session ended.

Spies takes another Superpole!

575236228_wM5Hc-O-1.jpg


I will post more this evening. Now it is time to go out and play on my bike. :wave
 
From: WorldSBK

Spies gets back to Superpole domination

Fabrizio on a roll in Donington qualifying

Donington Superbike Saturday Results

crash.net: Camier ÔÇô All is not lost

Standings before SaturdayÔÇÖs Donington Race
Drivers
Manufacturers

bikesportnews.com: Spies on pole, Bryne third

Motorsport.com: Saturday Notes -
Yamaha
Ducati
Series

crasn.net: Aprilia pair hail best qualifying yet

superbikeplanet.com: WSBK Donington Park Superpole quote machine

7 Days. 14 Riders. 1 Destination. Trip of a Lifetime! Reel Rydes takes you through the epic motorcycle trip from Calgary, AB, Canada down to Miller Motorsports Park, Utah, U.S.A. for World Superbike
<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-qT_ANOuC1Y&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-qT_ANOuC1Y&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

WSBK rd. 9 Donington Park, GBR, final qualifying

Today, June 27, 2009, 7 hours ago
2009 Superbike World Championship
Round 9, Donington Park, GBR
Final qualifying, Saturday 27th June
Circuit: 4.023 kms. Conditions: Mostly overcast, some rain, 17-19C.

TROY AND RUBEN TOGETHER ON ROW FOUR.


Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus finished Superpole with the 15th and 16th fastest laps and will start alongside each other on the fourth row of the grid at Donington tomorrow. The team had some new parts from Munich to evaluate, so most of the day was used working with these instead of chasing lap times.

At the end of the day, both Troy and Ruben were happy with the new material and are looking forward to more time on the bike and further improvement.
American Ben Spies (Yamaha) took his eighth Superpole of the season in a rain-affected Q3, with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) second, Shane Byrne (Ducati) third and Shinya Nakano (Aprilia) fourth.

Troy - 15th, 1:30.916
We had some new stuff to try today and the first signs are encouraging. It was a bit more easy to use the throttle and a bit of an improvement in set-up. Everything feels a bit more fluid and, although thereÔÇÖs still a lot of work to do, I am looking forward to further progress.

This series is the hardest and most competitive it has ever been and there are so many strong teams out there all fighting for positions. Considering the level of competition this year, I think weÔÇÖre doing pretty well at this stage of our development.

Ruben - 16th, 1:31.120

I am going two seconds or so a lap faster than last year and that makes me happy. The new parts have had an impact on me straightaway and I think we can improve the bike quite a bit as we carry on the good work. This series is tough for sure, and itÔÇÖs interesting to realise that todayÔÇÖs lap times are so much faster than last year. I had a bit of a problem with the brakes on one of my bikes today, otherwise I think I couldÔÇÖve pushed harder in Superpole. But the important thing is that we are all working hard. Today has given us all something to work towards because we can see the possibilities better.

Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport, Director)

The new parts seem to give the bike better rideability and now we need to do more work and analyse the results. Our bike works normally on race rubber, but it seems quite sensitive when it is on very soft tyres and then it requires different settings. We decided to use this weekend more as a test, then look at the data and go for further improvements at the next two tests. Our positions today are not wonderful, but consider that both our riders are quicker than last yearÔÇÖs lap record. That shows how competitive and hard this series is this year. I donÔÇÖt think this championship has ever been so tough, but weÔÇÖre ready for the fight and feel positive about the future.

Donington Park, UK - Final qualifying: FAMILIAR TERRITORY FOR TROY IN DONINGTON TODAY


Once again this season, Troy will start a Superbike World Championship race from the fourth row of the grid. He managed to qualify for Superpole 1 and 2, but was unable to get into that last elusive Superpole 3. Despite his grid position Troy is happy because some new parts arrived and the early signs are that they have improved the rideability of the bike. Troy went faster than the existing lap record today in Superpole 1, but American Ben Spies (Yamaha) was again unstoppable. He recorded the first ever sub 1:30 lap on his way to his eighth Superpole of the season. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) was second, with Shane Byrne (Ducati) third and Shinya Nakano (Aprilia) fourth. Troy - 15th, 1:30.916 ItÔÇÖs funny to think that I broke the lap record, lapped faster here than ever before, but still ended up in 15th place! So once again itÔÇÖs row four of the grid and two good starts required tomorrow. We had some new stuff to try today and I think the early signs are quite positive. Certainly it feels more easy to use the throttle and some of the hesitation has gone. The bike is a bit easier to control and I think we will be able to get a better set-up more quickly. Of course, thereÔÇÖs a lot of work to do, but itÔÇÖs encouraging and good that we are moving in a positive direction.

See ya, Troy


Rider /Team Sites
Troy Corser ÔÇô BMW ÔÇô 11
Ruben Xaus ÔÇô BMW ÔÇô 111
Ben Spies ÔÇô Yamaha ÔÇô 19
John Hopkins ÔÇô Honda


BMW
BMW Motorrad Motorsport
11 - Corser Troy
111 ÔÇô Ruben Xaus

APRILIA
Aprilia Racing
3 - Biaggi Max
56 - Nakano Shinya

DUCATI
DUCATI Xerox Team
41 - Haga Noriyuki
84 - Fabrizio Michel
DFX Corse
55 - Laconi R?®gis
Team Guandalini Racing World Superbike
24 - Roberts Brendan
96 - Smrz Jakub
Team Sterilgarda
53 - Polita Alessandro
67 - Byrne Shane

HONDA
HONDA World Site ÔÇô world site
Honda Racing UK
Althea Racing HANNspree Honda
33 - Hill Tommy
Ten Kate Racing HANNspree Honda
7 - Checa Carlos
9 - Kiyonari Ryuichi
65 - Rea Jonathan
Pro Ride Superbik
Stiggy Racing Honda
91 - Haslam Leon
John Hopkins
Squadra Corse Itlalia
77 - Iannuzzo Vittorio

KAWASAKI
Kawasaki Road Racing
Paul Bird Motorsport
23 - Parkes Broc
100 - Tamada Makoto
PSG ÔÇô 1 Corse
86 - Badovini Ayrton
Team Pedercini
25 - Salom David
99 - Scassa Luca

SUZKI
Suzuke-Racing
Alstarre Suzuki
71 - Kagayama Yukio
76 - Neukirchner Max
Celani Racing Team
31 - Muggeridge Karl
TKR Suzuki Switzerland
88 - Resch Roland

YAMAHA
Yamaha World Superbike Team
19 - Spies Ben
66 - Sykes Tom
Yamaha GMT94 Ipone
94 - Checa David
MG Competition

Dropped riders
36 - Lavilla Gregorio
15 - Baiocco Matteo
 
Spoiler Alert: Donington Race 1 results

From: WorldSBK
Race 1 Results

Spies dominated race one. Biaggi was the only rider able to keep up with his pace until the last lap. Biaggi dropped off and is reported to have been shaking his bike side to side having fuel problems. Biaggi sputtered to the finish in second just over seven seconds behind Spies. Haga came in third three seconds behind Biaggi. Incredible!

Xaus came in 15th for BMWs only finishing bike. Corser exited the race on lap 2. There is no explanation available at this time.
 
Spoiler Alert: Donington Race 2 Results

From: WorldSBK

Race 2 Results

Spies dominated race 2 in the same way he did race one coming home over 6 seconds ahead of Haslam in P2. The P2-5 made up one of the following groups fighting amongst themselves for leftovers. P6-8 formed a second following cluster of riders. Ruben Xaus finished in P9 unable to catch the latter group but well ahead of the rest of the pack. Teammate Troy Corser finished a distant P20.

SpiesÔÇÖ championship hunt made more progress. Current points leader Haga did not score any points posting a DNF when he retired form the race on lap 4. Fabrizio third in the championship hunt came in third in the race giving more breathing room for Spies.

I will post a wrap up this evening.
 
From: WorldSBK
Spies takes win number 9 in race 1
Spies doubles up in race 2
Spies closes gag at the top with double triumph at Donington

Donington Race Results and Statistics

bikesportnews.com: Donington WSB – Spies runs away with the double

crash.net: Haga suffers suspected fractured vertebra

motorcyclenews.com: Haga airlifted to hospital

bikesportnews.com: Haga to undergo surgery for spine injury

superbikeplanet.com: Blood run cold – Haga update

crash.net: Biaggi picks up best result, foot injury

crash.net: Gear problem ends Fabrizio podium streak

crash.net: Haslam cheered on to superb second

Donington Gallery


WSBK rd. 9 Donington Park, GBR, The Race
Today, June 28, 2009, 3 hours ago
2009 Superbike World Championship
Round 9, Donington Park, GBR
Sunday 28th June
Circuit: 4.023 kms. Crowd: 61,000 (3-day).
Conditions: Dry, overcast first, then sunny, 20-23C

TOP TEN FOR RUBEN.

Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Ruben Xaus took a superb ninth place in the second Superbike World Championship race at Donington Park this afternoon. In sunny conditions, Ruben fought his way up through the field from the fourth row of the grid to take his third top ten finish of the season. This followed his 15th place in race one and showed that he and the team have recovered from their recent poor results. Ruben’s team mate Troy did not enjoy such a good day. A crash in race one, when he found a false neutral, and general lack of grip meant a real struggle in race two. But despite the grip problems, Troy kept going and managed to finish the race, albeit outside the points.

American Ben Spies (Yamaha) won both 23-lap races today and closed the gap on series leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) to just fourteen points. And with Haga injured in race two, and facing a possible lengthy layoff due to a back injury, Spies should be able to take advantage of the situation in the next few races. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) took runner-up spot in race one, with Haga third and and Leon Haslam (Honda) fourth. Second to Spies in a race two was Haslam, with Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third and Shane Byrne (Ducati) fourth.

Ruben - Race 1: 15th, Race 2: 9th

That was a tough weekend and I really know that I have done two hard races today. At the moment, the bike is very demanding physically and mentally and it requires a lot of concentration. I am happy to get a top ten finish, but I would be more happy if Troy and I would be getting top six finishes for sure.

Today our bike was good in the fast corners, but we lost out on the slow ones. My riding style is more aggressive than Troy and for that you have to be 100% fit. Troy is not 100% fit yet, so he is having a harder time getting the bike round the track at the speeds he would like to do. I see positive signs ahead and I am looking forward to the next two tests.

Troy - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 20th

For me, it was a terrible day and not such a good weekend. All weekend, I have being having a problem because of the lack of grip and today it was as bad as it has ever been. The bike felt hard to ride today and I got a lot of wheelspin and found it hard to stop it wheelieing. In race one, the bike just jumped out of gear when I tried to backshift from third to second and I was forced into the gravel and had to lay the bike down. Fortunately, I didn’t hurt myself at all, but it was an unnecessary crash. Race two was all about grip, or lack of it. But I kept going, even though I was losing places, because I wanted to give the team as much telemetry info as possible.

Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director)

This weekend has given us a lot of surprises. We were surprised that the weather was not as expected, or forecasted. Happily the conditions were dry for both races, which means that we have a huge package of information and data to take back to our workshops. Regarding the results: we know where we are in the rankings. We know what technical issues we have to improve and we will address them for the next tests.

I am happy that Ruben managed a top ten and would like to compliment Troy on bringing the bike home in race two despite difficult circumstances. We don’t have any deep disappointment this weekend. We realise that we have a lot of work to do and we need to keep improving every time Ruben and Troy go out on the bike.

Results
Race 1: 1 Spies (USA-Yamaha), 2 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia), 3 Haga (JPN-Ducati), 4 Haslam (GBR-Honda), 5 Byrne (GBR-Ducati), 6 Nakano (JPN-Aprilia), 15 Ruben Xaus (ESP-BMW Motorrad Motorsport), Troy Corser (AUS-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) DNF

Race 2: 1 Spies, 2 Haslam, 3 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati), 4 Byrne, 5 Sykes (GBR-Yamaha), 6 Camier (GBR-Yamaha), 9 Ruben Xaus (ESP-BMW Motorrad Motorsport), 20 Troy Corser (AUS-BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
Points: 1 Haga 308, 2 Spies 294, 3 Fabrizio 257, 4 Rea 177, 5 Haslam 167, 6 Biaggi 155, 16 Ruben Xaus (ESP-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 50, 17 Troy Corser (AUS-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 36


Donington Park, UK - Race: MORE MISERY FOR TROY


After the recent run of indifferent results, Troy was hoping that this weekend’s ninth round of the Superbike World Championship would end more positively. But instead, a DNF in race one and a no-score in race two left Troy disappointed and frustrated. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) won both 23-lap races today to close the gap on series leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) to just fourteen points. Haga was injured in a fall at Coppice in race two and faces a possible lengthy layoff due to a back injury and Spies will surely take advantage of the situation in the next few races. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) took runner-up spot in race one, with Haga third and and Leon Haslam (Honda) fourth. Second to Spies in a race two was Haslam, with Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third and Shane Byrne (Ducati) fourth. Troy - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 20th I am getting a bit disappointed and frustrated because I am unable to get back to the kind of form we showed earlier in the season. OK, I am not yet 100% fit, but I expected more this weekend, even allowing for the condition of my shoulder. Today was terrible for me and most, if not all, of it was down to the fact that I had no grip. It is difficult to ride fast when you have no grip, but at the moment, the bike is not so easy to ride and you have to concentrate every second of the race and that is exhausting - physically and mentally. Although we changed a few things in this morning’s warm-up, the bike didn’t feel comfortable then, or in the races and it’s difficult to push hard when you don’t know where the limits of the bike are. Fortunately we have some tests coming up and I am hoping that we will be able to sort out what’s going on and make some good improvements.

Wish me luck, Troy


Next Race

Brno Czech Republic July 24-27

Official Track Website
 
I watched the races and saw Haga's crash; all high-sides look painful, seeing a bike land hard on top of the rider is downright scary. Let's hope the initial reports are exagerrated and he'll make a quick recovery.
 
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