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After his poor start in the first race, further pressure was put on Spies who now stood 35 points behind Noriyuki Haga because of his crash out in Race 2. Surely Haga felt the pressure too, knowing that the American wouldn’t make the same mistakes a second time. With the Championship already playing out in the third stop of the WSBK tour, Race 2 already had more than just a purpose.*Continue reading for spoilers from Race 2 of the Valencia World Superbike Races, and to see how Race 2 sorted itself out.
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Trying to get a better start than before, Spies still had difficulty launching the Yamaha from the front of the pack. Instead, it was Regis Laconi again who held the lead going into Turn 1 of the Spanish circuit. Running wide on the exit however, Laconi allowed Max Neukirchner and Michel Fabrizio to get by and take the first and second place positions.
To make matters worse, Laconi also had Noriyuki Haga all over his tail section. Haga would later pass the Frenchman by the end of lap one. Seeing Haga pass Laconi, Spies followed suit, diving underneath the DFX Corse Ducati into Turn 6 to take fourth place. Haga made his way through the competition, passing teammate Michel Fabrizio, with Spies following doing the same. As the front runners entered the long left handed Turn 13, Haga was pushing Neukirchner hard for the lead, finally passed him going into Turn 1. Spies coming along a lap later.
Despite his efforts, the American could not touch the show that Haga was putting on for the Spanish crowd. Noriyuki Haga increased his lead lap by lap, to take his second win of the day, and third win of the Championship, by over 5 seconds. This included time lost in a big standup wheelie across the line to cap the day off.*
Spies was lucky the race was not longer. After giving up on chasing Haga, the Texan spent the last few laps nervously watching Michel Fabrizio and Regis Laconi approach. Conversely, if the race had been three laps shorter, John Hopkins would have taken a very respectable eighth place finish. But Hopper had used up his tires in the early running, and was forced to allow first Max Biaggi, then Ryuichi Kiyonari, Tom Sykes, and finally even Shakey Byrne past, finishing the race in twelfth.
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Results from Race 2 of the World Superbike Stop at Valencia:
Pos No. Rider Country Bike Fastest Lap Diff Laps 1 41 N. Haga JPN Ducati 1098R 1′34.618 * 23 2 19 B. Spies USA Yamaha YZF R1 1′35.004 5.105 23 3 84 M. Fabrizio ITA Ducati 1098R 1′35.301 6.386 23 4 55 R. Laconi FRA Ducati 1098R 1′35.085 6.573 23 5 91 L. Haslam GBR Honda CBR1000RR 1′35.624 14.075 23 6 7 C. Checa ESP Honda CBR1000RR 1′35.337 17.333 23 7 76 M. Neukirchner GER Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′35.336 19.207 23 8 3 M. Biaggi ITA Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′35.674 20.697 23 9 9 R. Kiyonari JPN Honda CBR1000RR 1′35.519 21.015 23 10 66 T. Sykes GBR Yamaha YZF R1 1′35.928 22.581 23 11 67 S. Byrne GBR Ducati 1098R 1′35.938 22.604 23 12 121 J. Hopkins USA Honda CBR1000RR 1′35.889 23.952 23 13 65 J. Rea GBR Honda CBR1000RR 1′36.098 29.082 23 14 96 J. Smrz CZE Ducati 1098R 1′35.963 29.277 23 15 11 T. Corser AUS BMW S1000 RR 1′36.030 32.384 23 16 111 R. Xaus ESP BMW S1000 RR 1′36.381 35.125 23 17 23 B. Parkes AUS Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′36.244 38.344 23 18 24 B. Roberts AUS Ducati 1098R 1′36.986 39.161 23 19 31 K. Muggeridge AUS Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′36.507 39.374 23 20 94 D. Checa ESP Yamaha YZF R1 1′36.788 49.904 23 21 25 D. Salom ESP Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′36.975 52.631 23 22 33 T. Hill GBR Honda CBR1000RR 1′37.021 52.966 23 23 77 V. Iannuzzo ITA Honda CBR1000RR 1′37.016 53.196 23 24 99 L. Scassa ITA Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′37.107 53.491 23 25 88 R. Resch AUT Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′37.297 1′19.946 23 RET 71 Y. Kagayama JPN Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′35.461 2 Laps 21 RET 15 M. Baiocco ITA Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′37.264 3 Laps 20 RET 100 M. Tamada JPN Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′36.674 12 Laps 11 RET 86 A. Badovini ITA Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′37.070 16 Laps 7
Visit Asphalt & Rubber for more articles like this one
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This article comes from AsphaltandRubber.com
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After his poor start in the first race, further pressure was put on Spies who now stood 35 points behind Noriyuki Haga because of his crash out in Race 2. Surely Haga felt the pressure too, knowing that the American wouldn’t make the same mistakes a second time. With the Championship already playing out in the third stop of the WSBK tour, Race 2 already had more than just a purpose.*Continue reading for spoilers from Race 2 of the Valencia World Superbike Races, and to see how Race 2 sorted itself out.
*
Trying to get a better start than before, Spies still had difficulty launching the Yamaha from the front of the pack. Instead, it was Regis Laconi again who held the lead going into Turn 1 of the Spanish circuit. Running wide on the exit however, Laconi allowed Max Neukirchner and Michel Fabrizio to get by and take the first and second place positions.
To make matters worse, Laconi also had Noriyuki Haga all over his tail section. Haga would later pass the Frenchman by the end of lap one. Seeing Haga pass Laconi, Spies followed suit, diving underneath the DFX Corse Ducati into Turn 6 to take fourth place. Haga made his way through the competition, passing teammate Michel Fabrizio, with Spies following doing the same. As the front runners entered the long left handed Turn 13, Haga was pushing Neukirchner hard for the lead, finally passed him going into Turn 1. Spies coming along a lap later.
Despite his efforts, the American could not touch the show that Haga was putting on for the Spanish crowd. Noriyuki Haga increased his lead lap by lap, to take his second win of the day, and third win of the Championship, by over 5 seconds. This included time lost in a big standup wheelie across the line to cap the day off.*
Spies was lucky the race was not longer. After giving up on chasing Haga, the Texan spent the last few laps nervously watching Michel Fabrizio and Regis Laconi approach. Conversely, if the race had been three laps shorter, John Hopkins would have taken a very respectable eighth place finish. But Hopper had used up his tires in the early running, and was forced to allow first Max Biaggi, then Ryuichi Kiyonari, Tom Sykes, and finally even Shakey Byrne past, finishing the race in twelfth.
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Results from Race 2 of the World Superbike Stop at Valencia:
Pos No. Rider Country Bike Fastest Lap Diff Laps 1 41 N. Haga JPN Ducati 1098R 1′34.618 * 23 2 19 B. Spies USA Yamaha YZF R1 1′35.004 5.105 23 3 84 M. Fabrizio ITA Ducati 1098R 1′35.301 6.386 23 4 55 R. Laconi FRA Ducati 1098R 1′35.085 6.573 23 5 91 L. Haslam GBR Honda CBR1000RR 1′35.624 14.075 23 6 7 C. Checa ESP Honda CBR1000RR 1′35.337 17.333 23 7 76 M. Neukirchner GER Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′35.336 19.207 23 8 3 M. Biaggi ITA Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′35.674 20.697 23 9 9 R. Kiyonari JPN Honda CBR1000RR 1′35.519 21.015 23 10 66 T. Sykes GBR Yamaha YZF R1 1′35.928 22.581 23 11 67 S. Byrne GBR Ducati 1098R 1′35.938 22.604 23 12 121 J. Hopkins USA Honda CBR1000RR 1′35.889 23.952 23 13 65 J. Rea GBR Honda CBR1000RR 1′36.098 29.082 23 14 96 J. Smrz CZE Ducati 1098R 1′35.963 29.277 23 15 11 T. Corser AUS BMW S1000 RR 1′36.030 32.384 23 16 111 R. Xaus ESP BMW S1000 RR 1′36.381 35.125 23 17 23 B. Parkes AUS Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′36.244 38.344 23 18 24 B. Roberts AUS Ducati 1098R 1′36.986 39.161 23 19 31 K. Muggeridge AUS Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′36.507 39.374 23 20 94 D. Checa ESP Yamaha YZF R1 1′36.788 49.904 23 21 25 D. Salom ESP Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′36.975 52.631 23 22 33 T. Hill GBR Honda CBR1000RR 1′37.021 52.966 23 23 77 V. Iannuzzo ITA Honda CBR1000RR 1′37.016 53.196 23 24 99 L. Scassa ITA Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′37.107 53.491 23 25 88 R. Resch AUT Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′37.297 1′19.946 23 RET 71 Y. Kagayama JPN Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′35.461 2 Laps 21 RET 15 M. Baiocco ITA Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′37.264 3 Laps 20 RET 100 M. Tamada JPN Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′36.674 12 Laps 11 RET 86 A. Badovini ITA Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′37.070 16 Laps 7
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