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This article comes from AsphaltandRubber.com
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In Assen, Holland, it was Ben Spies who took the holeshot in Race 1, launching off the line from pole position and into turn 1 of the Dutch course. *Spies was followed by Max Neukirchner and Noriyuki Haga, neither of whom could touch the American’s lead position after turning just one lap around the course. As Haga closed in on*Neukirchner it seemed there would be a good battle for second brewing, but the German made a mistake in the GT chicane and tossed his bike. He would finish 13th for the day. However, Race 1 at Assen wasn’t about to*disappoint. Continue reading for a woefully inadequate*description*of one heck of a Superbike race that was WSBK Race 1 at Assen.
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With nothing between himself and Spies, Haga quickly closed the Yamaha down, and sat on the Texan’s tail. The pair wasn’t alone either,*Leon Haslam was setting a series of blistering laps and chasing the two leaders down, and soon the race turned into three-way melee between Spies, Haga and Haslam. Haga had been pushing Spies through the Ramshoek and into the final GT chicane for several laps, but Spies kept holding the Japanese rider off. So on lap 13, Haga switched tactics, diving underneath Spies into the Strubben hairpin, and taking the lead. A corner later, Haslam was passed Spies as well and began pulling away from the American.
As the laps started to click off, Spies started to reel Haga and Haslam back in, and with three laps to go, Spies made his move on Haslam. With the two bikes side-by-side through several turns, Spies finally got past the Englishmen and began gaining on Haga. Catching him as they started the final lap, Spies made his final move in the back section of the track. Getting past Haga with only a few turns to go, Spies held off Haga’s final challenge into the GT chicane to take the win. Haga was forced to settle for 2nd, with Haslam finishing third.
Tom Sykes rode his best race to date on the other Factory Yamaha to take 4th place, while Max Biaggi fought his way through the field to finish 5th, after starting from 10th on the grid. If you didn’t see this race, we feel sorry for you.
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Results from Race 1 World Superbike at Assen:
Pos Rider Country Bike Diff 1 B. Spies USA Yamaha YZF R1 * 2 N. Haga JPN Ducati 1098R 0.154 3 L. Haslam GBR Honda CBR1000RR 0.779 4 T. Sykes GBR Yamaha YZF R1 8.775 5 M. Biaggi ITA Aprilia RSV4 Factory 11.275 6 J. Smrz CZE Ducati 1098R 16.126 7 J. Rea GBR Honda CBR1000RR 19.555 8 R. Laconi FRA Ducati 1098R 19.760 9 M. Fabrizio ITA Ducati 1098R 23.006 10 T. Corser AUS BMW S1000 RR 24.285 11 S. Byrne GBR Ducati 1098R 26.003 12 K. Muggeridge AUS Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 27.814 13 M. Neukirchner GER Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 36.962 14 R. Xaus ESP BMW S1000 RR 39.025 15 R. Kiyonari JPN Honda CBR1000RR 41.505 16 B. Roberts AUS Ducati 1098R 41.810 17 M. Tamada JPN Kawasaki ZX 10R 50.186 18 S. Easton GBR Kawasaki ZX 10R 55.567 19 D. Checa ESP Yamaha YZF R1 56.425 20 D. Salom ESP Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′05.169 21 R. Resch AUT Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′37.663 RET L. Scassa ITA Kawasaki ZX 10R 4 Laps RET S. Nakano JPN Aprilia RSV4 Factory 9 Laps RET V. Iannuzzo ITA Honda CBR1000RR 9 Laps RET M. Baiocco ITA Kawasaki ZX 10R 10 Laps RET C. Checa ESP Honda CBR1000RR 18 Laps RET Y. Kagayama JPN Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 21 Laps RET T. Hill GBR Honda CBR1000RR 22 Laps
Visit Asphalt & Rubber for more articles like this one
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This article comes from AsphaltandRubber.com
*
*
*
In Assen, Holland, it was Ben Spies who took the holeshot in Race 1, launching off the line from pole position and into turn 1 of the Dutch course. *Spies was followed by Max Neukirchner and Noriyuki Haga, neither of whom could touch the American’s lead position after turning just one lap around the course. As Haga closed in on*Neukirchner it seemed there would be a good battle for second brewing, but the German made a mistake in the GT chicane and tossed his bike. He would finish 13th for the day. However, Race 1 at Assen wasn’t about to*disappoint. Continue reading for a woefully inadequate*description*of one heck of a Superbike race that was WSBK Race 1 at Assen.
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With nothing between himself and Spies, Haga quickly closed the Yamaha down, and sat on the Texan’s tail. The pair wasn’t alone either,*Leon Haslam was setting a series of blistering laps and chasing the two leaders down, and soon the race turned into three-way melee between Spies, Haga and Haslam. Haga had been pushing Spies through the Ramshoek and into the final GT chicane for several laps, but Spies kept holding the Japanese rider off. So on lap 13, Haga switched tactics, diving underneath Spies into the Strubben hairpin, and taking the lead. A corner later, Haslam was passed Spies as well and began pulling away from the American.
As the laps started to click off, Spies started to reel Haga and Haslam back in, and with three laps to go, Spies made his move on Haslam. With the two bikes side-by-side through several turns, Spies finally got past the Englishmen and began gaining on Haga. Catching him as they started the final lap, Spies made his final move in the back section of the track. Getting past Haga with only a few turns to go, Spies held off Haga’s final challenge into the GT chicane to take the win. Haga was forced to settle for 2nd, with Haslam finishing third.
Tom Sykes rode his best race to date on the other Factory Yamaha to take 4th place, while Max Biaggi fought his way through the field to finish 5th, after starting from 10th on the grid. If you didn’t see this race, we feel sorry for you.
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Results from Race 1 World Superbike at Assen:
Pos Rider Country Bike Diff 1 B. Spies USA Yamaha YZF R1 * 2 N. Haga JPN Ducati 1098R 0.154 3 L. Haslam GBR Honda CBR1000RR 0.779 4 T. Sykes GBR Yamaha YZF R1 8.775 5 M. Biaggi ITA Aprilia RSV4 Factory 11.275 6 J. Smrz CZE Ducati 1098R 16.126 7 J. Rea GBR Honda CBR1000RR 19.555 8 R. Laconi FRA Ducati 1098R 19.760 9 M. Fabrizio ITA Ducati 1098R 23.006 10 T. Corser AUS BMW S1000 RR 24.285 11 S. Byrne GBR Ducati 1098R 26.003 12 K. Muggeridge AUS Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 27.814 13 M. Neukirchner GER Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 36.962 14 R. Xaus ESP BMW S1000 RR 39.025 15 R. Kiyonari JPN Honda CBR1000RR 41.505 16 B. Roberts AUS Ducati 1098R 41.810 17 M. Tamada JPN Kawasaki ZX 10R 50.186 18 S. Easton GBR Kawasaki ZX 10R 55.567 19 D. Checa ESP Yamaha YZF R1 56.425 20 D. Salom ESP Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′05.169 21 R. Resch AUT Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′37.663 RET L. Scassa ITA Kawasaki ZX 10R 4 Laps RET S. Nakano JPN Aprilia RSV4 Factory 9 Laps RET V. Iannuzzo ITA Honda CBR1000RR 9 Laps RET M. Baiocco ITA Kawasaki ZX 10R 10 Laps RET C. Checa ESP Honda CBR1000RR 18 Laps RET Y. Kagayama JPN Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 21 Laps RET T. Hill GBR Honda CBR1000RR 22 Laps
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