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This article comes from AsphaltandRubber.com
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Racing went off without a hitch this Sunday, as the Imola circuit seemed devoid of earlier traction problems that almost sidelined the racing earlier this week. With Imola sitting literally in Ducati’s backyard, all eyes were on the Xerox Ducati squad, and Noriyuki Haga.
Haga, who trails Ben Spies for the first time this season coming into Imola, was especially keen on grabbing back some points from the American. Lastly, a new addition to the WSBK paddock took the form of Marco Simoncelli, who was filling in on the factory Aprilia team for the injured Shinya Nakano. A full race report with spoilers after the jump.
The Italian motorcycles clearly were dialed-in for Imola this weekend, with the Ducati’s showing strong results, as well as the RSV4’s of Biaggi and Simoncelli. So it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see that Race 1 at Imola was dominated by the close racing between the Italian machines, with American Ben Spies trailing and Johnny Rea a brief factor.
With Biaggi leading the majority of the first race at Imola, Sunday looked to be a good outing for the Aprilia squad. This mood was only affected by Marco Simoncelli’s early departure from the race, as he crashed while in 5th place (after moving up the second wave of riders with skill and ease). Simoncelli more than made-up for his Race 1 performance in Race 2 thought (more on that later). In fact, it looked like Biaggi might take it all the way to the podium before Haga passed him with three laps to go.
Once Haga had gotten around Max, he was never to be seen again, and Biaggi had to contend with an equally fast Michel Fabrizio, who at times was also showing Biaggi a wheel. Holding Fabrizio off through the rest of the course, Biaggi found himself on the second step of the podium. The Texan Ben Spies was less of a factor during the race, content to finish 4th for the race, and unable to match the speeds of the Italian beasts. With that result, Spies’ lead over Haga is reduced to just 6 points.
Johnny Rea also contended with the leaders, until a hot entry on lap three saw Rea cut-through the lead pack. Barely missing the pair of Xerox Ducatis as he over-shot the turn, Rea ended-up dumping the bike in the gravel, as he lightly hit the air wall. He would rejoin the race and finish 7th. Thankfully this move had no impact on the WSBK Championship standings.
Results from Race 1 of World Superbike at Imola, Italy:
Pos.Num.RiderCountryBikeDiff141N. HagaJPNDucati 1098R-23M. BiaggiITAAprilia RSV4 Factory2.074384M. FabrizioITADucati 1098R2.190419B. SpiesUSAYamaha YZF R15.43859R. KiyonariJPNHonda CBR1000RR14.470691L. HaslamGBRHonda CBR1000RR14.685765J. ReaGBRHonda CBR1000RR26.822896J. SmrzCZEDucati 1098R32.694966T. SykesGBRYamaha YZF R133.8171023B. ParkesAUSKawasaki ZX 10R34.8011111T. CorserAUSBMW S1000 RR35.28612111R. XausESPBMW S1000 RR36.4421331K. MuggeridgeAUSSuzuki GSX-R 1000 K938.6981415M. BaioccoITADucati 1098R42.1471571Y. KagayamaJPNSuzuki GSX-R 1000 K946.5101699L. ScassaITAKawasaki ZX 10R46.6281794D. ChecaESPYamaha YZF R11′16.1211825D. SalomESPKawasaki ZX 10R1′16.398RET77V. IannuzzoITAHonda CBR1000RR8 LapsRET58M. SimoncelliITAAprilia RSV4 Factory12 LapsRET67S. ByrneGBRDucati 1098R13 LapsRET7C. ChecaESPHonda CBR1000RR14 LapsRET10F. NietoESPDucati 1098R14 LapsRET100M. TamadaJPNKawasaki ZX 10R16 LapsRET124L. ConfortiITADucati 1098R16 LapsRET14M. LagriveFRAHonda CBR1000RR18 LapsRET57L. LanziITADucati 1098R19 Laps
Visit Asphalt & Rubber for more articles like this one
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This article comes from AsphaltandRubber.com
*
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*
Racing went off without a hitch this Sunday, as the Imola circuit seemed devoid of earlier traction problems that almost sidelined the racing earlier this week. With Imola sitting literally in Ducati’s backyard, all eyes were on the Xerox Ducati squad, and Noriyuki Haga.
Haga, who trails Ben Spies for the first time this season coming into Imola, was especially keen on grabbing back some points from the American. Lastly, a new addition to the WSBK paddock took the form of Marco Simoncelli, who was filling in on the factory Aprilia team for the injured Shinya Nakano. A full race report with spoilers after the jump.
The Italian motorcycles clearly were dialed-in for Imola this weekend, with the Ducati’s showing strong results, as well as the RSV4’s of Biaggi and Simoncelli. So it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see that Race 1 at Imola was dominated by the close racing between the Italian machines, with American Ben Spies trailing and Johnny Rea a brief factor.
With Biaggi leading the majority of the first race at Imola, Sunday looked to be a good outing for the Aprilia squad. This mood was only affected by Marco Simoncelli’s early departure from the race, as he crashed while in 5th place (after moving up the second wave of riders with skill and ease). Simoncelli more than made-up for his Race 1 performance in Race 2 thought (more on that later). In fact, it looked like Biaggi might take it all the way to the podium before Haga passed him with three laps to go.
Once Haga had gotten around Max, he was never to be seen again, and Biaggi had to contend with an equally fast Michel Fabrizio, who at times was also showing Biaggi a wheel. Holding Fabrizio off through the rest of the course, Biaggi found himself on the second step of the podium. The Texan Ben Spies was less of a factor during the race, content to finish 4th for the race, and unable to match the speeds of the Italian beasts. With that result, Spies’ lead over Haga is reduced to just 6 points.
Johnny Rea also contended with the leaders, until a hot entry on lap three saw Rea cut-through the lead pack. Barely missing the pair of Xerox Ducatis as he over-shot the turn, Rea ended-up dumping the bike in the gravel, as he lightly hit the air wall. He would rejoin the race and finish 7th. Thankfully this move had no impact on the WSBK Championship standings.
Results from Race 1 of World Superbike at Imola, Italy:
Pos.Num.RiderCountryBikeDiff141N. HagaJPNDucati 1098R-23M. BiaggiITAAprilia RSV4 Factory2.074384M. FabrizioITADucati 1098R2.190419B. SpiesUSAYamaha YZF R15.43859R. KiyonariJPNHonda CBR1000RR14.470691L. HaslamGBRHonda CBR1000RR14.685765J. ReaGBRHonda CBR1000RR26.822896J. SmrzCZEDucati 1098R32.694966T. SykesGBRYamaha YZF R133.8171023B. ParkesAUSKawasaki ZX 10R34.8011111T. CorserAUSBMW S1000 RR35.28612111R. XausESPBMW S1000 RR36.4421331K. MuggeridgeAUSSuzuki GSX-R 1000 K938.6981415M. BaioccoITADucati 1098R42.1471571Y. KagayamaJPNSuzuki GSX-R 1000 K946.5101699L. ScassaITAKawasaki ZX 10R46.6281794D. ChecaESPYamaha YZF R11′16.1211825D. SalomESPKawasaki ZX 10R1′16.398RET77V. IannuzzoITAHonda CBR1000RR8 LapsRET58M. SimoncelliITAAprilia RSV4 Factory12 LapsRET67S. ByrneGBRDucati 1098R13 LapsRET7C. ChecaESPHonda CBR1000RR14 LapsRET10F. NietoESPDucati 1098R14 LapsRET100M. TamadaJPNKawasaki ZX 10R16 LapsRET124L. ConfortiITADucati 1098R16 LapsRET14M. LagriveFRAHonda CBR1000RR18 LapsRET57L. LanziITADucati 1098R19 Laps
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