Haga had a strong Misano but actually lost points to Toseland in Italy

The way we figure it, James Toseland's best friend right now is Max Biaggi.

Toseland, the World Superbike points leader, had a rather unremarkable Misano round. "King James" and the Ten Kate team hadn't tested going into the races at a heavily revised track, but he finished fourth and sixth and leaves the race still in charge in the points. He still leads by 21.

The second and third place men going into the weekend (Yamaha's Nori Haga and Alstare Suzuki's Biaggi) crashed out of race one with two laps to go. Both were right there with Ducati's Troy Bayliss at the front and fighting for the win at the time. Biaggi took a chance in passing Haga for second at the fastest point of the track, but could not get by cleanly and both men went down.

While the move may not have been an egregious Pedrosa-knocking-down-his-teammate mistake, most felt Max should shoulder the blame for the fall. Haga said he wasn't upset about he failed pass attempt as much as Biaggi not apologizing afterward.

Haga did score style points for kicking sand in Biaggi's direction in the gravel trap after the crash. But where it counted in the championship standings, both riders lost at least 16 points each -- third place points -- and possibly more.

At the same time, Toseland gained two places with Haga and Biaggi out, rising from sixth to fourth in the race. That's an extra three points.

In the end, Toseland didn't have the pace to run with Max or Nori over a full race distance at Misano but gained ground on both in his bid for a second World Superbike Championship.

Haga had more problems in race two. The medication administered for his wrist after the crash made him sick and caused "vomitization" in the second race, he said afterward. He still finished second.

Biaggi dropped down in the order in race two as he dealt with pain from the crash, but the "Roman Emperor" rallied to third as the race wore on.

The real winner in the weekend was Troy Bayliss, the reigning champ who doubled and vaulted from fourth to second in the standings. Bayliss, who lost a finger earlier this year in a crash at Donnington, was 61 points down on Toseland at one stage in this year's championship. But Bayliss has won the last three races and is closing fast. He's within 21 now.

There are 10 races to go in the season, the next being Brno in the Czech Republic next month.