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Press Release
PORTIMAO - ROUND 14 -23/24/25 OCTOBER 2009
Portimao, Sunday 25th October 2009
2009 World Superbike: Spies came, saw and conquered!
Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) won the first race and then controlled the situation in race 2 to take his and Yamaha's first ever World Superbike Championship title in front of an 86,000 crowd in the final round of the series at Portimao. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), points leader going into the decider, crashed out in race 1, making things easier for the Texan, who was fifth in the second race. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) took the win in race 2, while Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) were the other podium finishers.
Race 1
Race 1 was dominated from start to finish by Spies, who took his fourteenth win of the season and overhauled Haga in the title chase. The Texan, who rocketed away from the line, comfortably held off any attempts at an attack from Biaggi, then upped his pace to go on to take a solitary chequered flag. With this result Spies now has a 15-point advantage over Haga, who lost the front and crashed on lap 7 while making up time in fifth place. The runner-up slot went to Rea, who got the better of Biaggi after a terrific duel. The best Ducati rider to the line in fourth place was Shane Byrne, in one of his best races of the year, while fifth went to Michel Fabrizio (Ducati), who compromised his race with a bad start. Leon Camier had a good run to sixth for Aprilia, while Ruben Xaus finished eighth on the first BMW. Both Suzukis failed to finish, Yukio Kagayama crashing out and Sylvain Guintoli was forced to retire.
Ben Spies: "It was actually a really tough race, at first I was just going for the win, getting to the front and not worrying about anything. Then when Haga was out I had to win to get as many points as possible for race 2. Once you have a gap, you don't want to be stupid and throw it all away."
Jonathan Rea: "It took a little bit of time for my tyres to get right in but when they did they were good until the end. The team and the bike have been working really good and I can't thank them enough. It's the first time I've ever had such a result in race 1 and I'm sure in race 2 I'll be strong again."
Max Biaggi: "I didn't maybe have the chance to set up the bike the way I want and I had a few small problems, and then sometimes I made a few mistakes and this lost me some tenths. But I'm pleased with the result, even though I'm so sore from the accident yesterday and I didn't think I could do the whole distance."
Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 38'15.390 (158,442 kph); 2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1.697; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2.113; 4. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 2.757; 5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 14.753; 6. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 20.044; 7. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 25.634; 8. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 31.104
Race 2
Spies monitored Haga all the way in race 2 to take the fifth place that was enough to give him the 2009 title. The American only had to finish sixth, but he preferred to shy away from any direct confrontation and together with Haga's second place, the result gave him the title by six points. Fabrizio scored his third win of the season after a terrific scrap with Rea, who took the final podium slot, while Shane Byrne was again a protagonist of the race and finished fourth. Biaggi looked spectacular on the track, but the Italian made several errors and could only finish in sixth, while team-mate Leon Camier ran another convincing race in seventh, ahead of Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) and Corser (BMW), while this time both Suzuki riders Guintoli and Kagayama finished in the points.
Ben Spies: "First I've got to thank Yamaha for giving me everything I needed to win. It was really good, we did what we had to do and it was difficult to do that because the pace was quite fast and I saw that there were a couple of people behind me. I knew that if Nori won I had to be sixth, so I tried to stay out of trouble. It was spectacular, I can't thank Yamaha enough and everyone who's been behind me for my first year here. It'll sink in in the next couple of days!".
Michel Fabrizio: "Both Jonathan and I showed that we're going to be up at the front next year and we're going to do a lot of these battles. I really wanted that win, Johnny made a mistake here at the last curve, maybe a gear slipped or something, and for me it was all OK. Just as well because otherwise it would have been difficult to overtake him."
Noriyuki Haga: "This weekend we had a problem with the rear tyre and in the first race we made a mistake with the tyre choice and I crashed. Second race was quite good, I was worried for the tyre life, but I started to push and I am happy for second position. Unlucky for today for the title but I try to do my best for next year and congratulations to Ben for the world title."
Jonathan Rea: "With Michel I was racing for my own championship position and it seemed to be a little bit of a fight and I had to do something on the last lap to win the race and get fourth in the championship. I tried everything but made a mistake which allowed Michel to get past. But this is my best weekend of the season with a double podium."
Results: 1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 38'19.654 (158,148 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1.195; 3. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1.494; 4. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 5.553; 5. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 5.842; 6. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 7.374; 7. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 9.658; 8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 10.434; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 17.010; 10. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 24.509; 11. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 27.195; 12. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 34.825; 13. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 35.135; 14. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'01.842; 15. Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1'09.782; 16. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'30.818
Final Points: 1. Spies 462; 2. Haga 456; 3. Fabrizio 382; 4.Biaggi 319; 5.Rea 315; 6. Haslam 241; 7.Checa 209; 8. Byrne 192; 9. Sykes 176; 10. Smrz 169. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 572; 2. Yamaha 505; 3. Honda 431; 4. Aprilia 329; 5. Suzuki 173; 6. Bmw 141; 7. Kawasaki 76
Supersport
Mission accomplished for Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport)! Thanks to a four place in the final round, the British rider took the 2009 title in his debut year in the championship. The race win however went to Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), who did what he had to do and won but Crutchlow was impeccable in fourth and took home a well-deserved title. The runner-up slot went to Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who finished the championship in third place, a result that was made easier by the retirement of his chief rival Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com). It was a good day also for Triumph, who saw Garry McCoy step onto the podium for the second time this year, and Chaz Davies finish in seventh. Fifth place went to Mark Aitchison (Honda Althea), who got the better of Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini), who scored his best result of the season. It was a disappointing day for Massimo Roccoli (Honda Intermoto Czech), who crashed out, while Honda, thanks to Laverty's win, took the category's constructors' title.
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A COURAGIOUS NORIYUKI HAGA (DUCATI XEROX) LOSES THE WORLD SUPERBIKE TITLE BY 6 POINTS AT PORTIMAO; FABRIZIO WINS RACE 2
Portimao (Portugal), Sunday 25 October 2009: a bittersweet finale for Noriyuki Haga and the Ducati Xerox Team today when they lost the World Superbike riders title by just six points, after the Japanese rider crashed out of Race 1, to then finish on the podium, second, in Race 2. Already winners in the constructors championship, the Ducati factory team fought until the final lap of this last race but unfortunately they couldn't do enough and it was Yamaha's Spies who lifted the trophy. Michel Fabrizio, fifth in the first race, made a great recovery from eleventh position at the start of Race 2, to eventually win the race ahead of his team-mate, thus consolidating his third position in the final championship standings.
Race 1 did not go at all to plan for the Ducati Xerox Team. Japanese rider Noriyuki made up three positions with a strong start, progressing immediately up to seventh place, from where, in the space of four laps, he was able to catch up to both Haslam and Byrne. In the course of the fifth lap, Haga, followed by his team-mate Michel, was able to pass Haslam but unfortunately on the very next lap Haga unfortunately lost control of his Ducati 1198 and fell going into a corner, unable to restart his machine to continue the race. Michel, registered the fastest lap of the race before witnessing Nori's accident from behind. He then maintained his fifth position for the remainder of the race, suffering from a lack of rear grip from the fourteenth lap onwards which meant he was unable to make up time to catch the leading pack.
In the second race, having changed both his bike and the tyres, Noriyuki made a better start and after two laps was positioned fifth. A couple of laps later Michel passed him, aiming to catch Byrne and Rea up ahead. Fighting the two British riders for several laps, the Italian finally got ahead of both of them during lap thirteen, only to lose the lead once more to Rea a few laps later. Haga in the meantime caught the leading group, passing both Biaggi and Byrne to move up to third position. An error by Rea during the very last lap allowed both Ducati Xerox riders through and Michel and Noriyuki thus closed in first and second, another double win for the team at this final event of 2009.
During the 2009 season, Noriyuki Haga has achieved an impressive collection of 8 race wins, including 2 double wins, in Valencia and Kyalami, and 19 podiums in all. Michel clocked up 15 podiums, 3 of which were race wins, and together the two riders have amassed a total of 838 points. Ducati has won the constructors title with an advantage of 67 points over second-placed Yamaha.
Noriyuki Haga (2nd in classification, 456 points)
"All weekend I have had problems with the set up of the bike, mainly with the tyres that didn't give me total confidence. Usually we have a package that works well at every track and here too we didn't change so much with regard to the setting, only really tyres. In Race 1 we mounted two hard tyres and they didn't perform as we'd hoped, they didn't give me the necessary grip so it was hard to brake and unfortunately I fell even though I wasn't pushing so hard. We changed bikes for Race 2, just to be sure, as well as changing tyres of course. This time I had more grip and was able to make a good race. Unfortunately second in the race was not enough to take the title and it's a real pity, but I must say that I have had a great first year with this fantastic team that always provides me with a good bike. I thank my whole technical team, Ducati, the sponsors and the Clinica Mobile who have taken good care of me throughout the season. My compliments go to Ben who has been such a strong rival this year and even though he is going to MotoGP next year, I am sure we will remain friends. This week we'll start testing in preparation for next year. This year was a new adventure with Ducati and we'll continue to give 100% in 2010."
Michel Fabrizio (3rd in classification, 382 points)
"The first race was very difficult. I didn't make the best start but immediately started to push to make up time. Then, following behind Nori, I lost concentration for a minute when I saw him go down. I then tried to catch the leading group but I didn't have great feeling with the front tyre and then, about eight laps from the end, the rear tyre started to drop off too. In Race 2 on the other hand I was able to fight hard against Rea. The last time we raced together, at Misano, he got past me so it was my turn to do the same to him today. It was only for the fact that Rea made a mistake on the last lap that I was able to pass him as he was very strong today. I am very sorry for Nori of course but we demonstrated that we are strong and, for me, both Ben and Nori are winners because they have given us a fantastic season's racing, fighting until the very end for the title.
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SBK, RACE 2: BIAGGI FOURTH IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP, APRILIA FOURTH AMONG MANUFACTURERS
The heat became unbearable at the Portimao circuit and for Race 2 drivers
and team members were forced to review their choices with respect to the
first race. Michel Fabrizio, on his Ducati Factory, won the race with a
1:195 lead over his teammate Haga, and a 1:494 lead with respect to Rea's
Honda.
Byrne started off very well, followed by Spies, Biaggi and Rea while Haga
and Fabrizio were slightly slower. The English driver drove the first part
of the race with his fellow countryman on the Honda right behind him, as
well as Fabrizio, who managed an excellent recovery. Halfway through the
race, Biaggi caught up to them, but an error caused him to lose ground
which he then regained and then lost once more due to another "overshot" at
the fifth curve. During the final laps, Haga passed Byrne and caught up
with Rea who he passed, finishing in second place right behind his
teammate. Spies' fifth place finish ruined his recovery for the title by
just six points. Max Biaggi finished just behind the new world champion,
ending up in fourth place in the overall classification, the same position
occupied by Aprilia in the Manufacturer's Championship during the debut
season for the revolutionary RSV4.
Leon Camier finished in seventh place, right behind the best drivers.
Starting off well from the thirteenth position, Leon immediately found a
good pace that allowed him to recover several positions, making it to
seventh place by the eighth lap and managing to keep Corser and then Smrz
under control without too much effort.
"It was a rough race," declared Biaggi. "We made some changes to the bike
after Race 1 and they didn't help us so it was really a shame because we
could have had a good result. I started off well and I tried to stay in the
lead, but it was really difficult, the problems from the first race were
accentuated and I made a lot of errors. Then, my physical condition made
the situation worse because in order to try to recover, I had to make a lot
more effort. In any case, I'm very happy because I managed to hold on to
fourth place in the overall rankings, which is an excellent result, both
for me and for Aprilia during this debut year. Together we reached a goal
that even the most optimistic of fans couldn't have predicted."
"I gave it my all in both races," said Camier, "and we achieved two good
placements. In Race 1 I started off well and during the first three laps I
was very aggressive while trying to recover positions, I made a few
mistakes but they helped me to better understand the bike and to drive it
better. In Race 2 I was much less aggressive, I immediately set a good pace
and I made fewer errors. I'm happy about how things went also because at
the end of the races I was able to hold off competitors that have much more
experience than me."
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HONDA RACING INFORMATION
Portuguese World Superbike at Portimao
Sunday 25 October 2009
World Superbike and World Supersport race report
Temperature: Ambient: 28 to 30
Temperature: Track: 33 to 42
Attendance: 86,000 weekend total
REA FIFTH OVERALL AFTER TWO PODIUMS IN PORTUGAL
Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR)
finished the 2009 World Superbike championship as
top Honda rider, in overall fifth place, partly
thanks to second and third place finishes today in Portimao.
Rea, fourth in Superpole and therefore starting
from the front row, was not quite able to get
into contention with pole man and early leader
Ben Spies in race one, but finished only 1.697 seconds down at the flag.
In race two Rea was leading near the end of the
race, after an aggressive and controlled ride,
but dropped from first to third on the final lap.
Again he was less than two seconds from the
winner, this time Michel Fabrizio. Jonathan ended
the season with 315 points in total, narrowly
missing fourth place by just four points.
The championship itself was decided in the very
last round, with Ben Spies taking a win and a
fifth place, and with it the overall title in his
rookie year, by only six points from Noriyuki Haga.
Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR) saw
his first race end in a crash after he had also
fallen in warm-up and needed several stitches in
a right elbow injury. He had qualified fifth but
fell when he accidentally changed gear in a
corner. In race two he had to retire, scoring two
DNFs for the day, but holding onto his overall sixth place, and 241 points.
Race one delivered Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten
Kate Honda CBR1000RR) nine points for his seventh
place finish, having started the race from only
12th place on the grid. In the second 22-lap
contest he had to retire on lap eight. Seventh overall is his final reward.
Matthieu Lagrive (Honda Althea CBR1000RR) posted
ninth in race one and 13th in race two, and
despite doing only a handful of races he took 19th place in the final rankings.
Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) could
not overcome the effects of his recently broken
collarbone and despite riding on Friday he
withdrew before final qualifying. He ends the season 11th overall.
WSS
LAVERTY WINS THE RACE BUT NARROWLY LOSES THE TITLE FIGHT
Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) had an
almost immaculate Supersport race weekend at his
team's home circuit of Portimao, winning the
20-lap race, securing pole position, and
finishing the season only seven points from the championship win.
Some 19 points behind new champion Cal Crutchlow
entering the 14th and final round of the season,
championship rookie Laverty rode his heart out to
win by 3.443 seconds from 2007 World Champion
Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
CBR600RR). With Crutchlow riding to a safe
fourth, Laverty had to settle for second in the championship battle.
Laverty's fourth win of the year contributed to
Honda winning the Manufacturers' Title, by 13 points after 14 rounds.
Sofuoglu was a clear and clean second in this
race, having qualified fourth and therefore
starting from the front row. The winner at this
race last year, he ran hard through the entire
20-laps, but he was unable to touch the real race
pace of Laverty in what were hot and dry race
conditions. Sofuoglu finished his year third
overall, after new lap record holder Joan Lascorz
retired with a technical problem.
Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR)
moved up to sixth in the championship, after
finishing today's race 11th. He had qualified
11th, but could not get his machine to turn the
way he wanted to in race conditions.
A ninth place in qualifying was translated into
fifth in the race by Mark Aitchison (Althea Honda
CBR600RR) and he ends the year ninth overall.
For Portuguese rider Miguel Praia (Parkalgar
Honda CBR600RR) his home round placed him tenth,
not the result he looked for but also another
strong points score for his team after a bad
start to today's race. He was 15th overall.
Flavio Gentile (Althea Honda CBR600RR) finished
in 19th place and out of the points today.
Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR) was
unable to ride at Portimao and finished the year seventh overall.
SBK Rider Comments
Jonathan Rea: "This is my best weekend so far in
the season, and I have to thank the team for all
the help this year to get me to this point. In
the second race I had real good fun with Michel
Fabrizio but I had my own championship battle to
worry about against Biaggi. I pushed really hard
and wanted to win that race badly to finish off
the season on a high note, but congratulations to
Michel, he rode a great race. I am already
thinking about coming back next year and I'm really looking to it."
Leon Haslam: "In race one we had a few issues
with the setup using a too hard front tyre. I
ended up crashing because I was touching the
shifter, which was too bad as it would have been
an easy top five finish otherwise. In race two we
got the settings loads better and I just got past
Spies and was in a big group of riders, up to the
front-runners. This was not the best of weekends
but it has been a fantastic year so we just have
to forget about today with the injuries and the crashes."
Carlos Checa: "Race one was very frustrating
because we suffered from the same problems we had
during qualifying yesterday. In race two, we
improved the bike a little, going a little bit
softer in the rear and changing the tyre. It
definitely made things better because while
everyone else's pace was slower than in the first
race, I was able to improve my lap times. I was
just passing Kagayama when I had a problem with
the bike and the race was finished."
Ryuichi Kiyonari: "You can imagine that I am very
disappointed to miss out on this final race of
the season. I am especially sorry for my team,
who have worked so hard this season. I would also
like to apologise to Honda and the sponsors of
the team. I wanted to race but, after I spoke
with doctors and the team, we decided that it was not possible."
Matthieu Lagrive: "I'm not so happy with my today
results and I'm just a little disappointed
because of my two bad starts. In both races I
suffered the same problems we endured during the
full weekend and the feeling with my bike was not
so good. In race one I was able to overtake a lot
of riders despite some grip lacking on my rear
tyre. In race two in middle of the race I fought
in a group of riders and I worked hard to make some passes."
WSS Rider Comments
Eugene Laverty: "Pole position and a win but
Lascorz took the lap record from me, which wasn't
very considerate of him! But that was a perfect
race other wise. Right from the beginning I got a
gap over Kenan and was able to maintain that. I
was looking at his pit board too and he had six
seconds over the rider behind and I thought he
would let up, but he never did. I was able to
ride within myself and take the win, and the test
we did last week really helped us. I didn't think
when I came into the championship would could
compete for the title, but I ended up only a few
points from the championship win."
Kenan Sofuoglu: "My first goal this weekend was
to stay in third place in the championship and
that was safe when Lascorz stopped. But he
stopped right in front of me and I lost the
connection with Eugene, even though I managed to
catch him a bit near the end, but it was too
late. It's been a tough season but my goal will
be to come back strong next year. The bike is
ready to win the championship again and that's what we will be working for."
Andrew Pitt: "We changed the bike setting for the
race but went the wrong way and ended up fighting
a front-end problem we've had all weekend, and a
lot of the season - the bike just not turning.
I'd like to thank the crew for all the efforts
they've made all year to turn things around, but
I guess it just hasn't been our year. I would
also like to pay tribute to Kenan, who has been a
great guy to have as a team-mate."
Miguel Praia: "Not the result I wanted at my home
round but my start did not go well, I lost a
couple of places and it is hard to overtake here.
I would overtake riders and then go wide again,
so I passed and was re-passed. We got another top
ten finish but the competition was very strong today."
Mark Aitchison: "Today the race for me was not so
bad and at the end the result was quite good, but
in the beginning I suffered some problems with
the gearbox. I hit a false neutral on two
occasions and unfortunately I lost a lot of time
because of that. In general I'm happy with my
racing season and I want to thank all the team
for their hard work and also to my sponsor for their assistance."
Flavio Gentile: "Starting from twenty-third place
on the grid was always going to be difficult. I
cannot say that I am happy with the result, but I
have to be satisfied after the troubles we have
had this weekend. Portimao was a new circuit for
me to learn and we found it difficult to obtain a good setting for the bike."
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Team Suzuki Alstare news
2009 Superbike World Championship
Round 14, Portimao, Portugal
Sunday 25th October
Circuit: 4.592 kms. Crowd: 86,000 (3-day). Conditions: Dry, sunny 28-30 C.
TOP TEN FOR NEW BOY SYLVAIN. DISAPPOINTMENT FOR YUKIO IN HIS LAST RACE WEEKEND WITH SUZUKI ALSTARE.
The last round of this year's Superbike Championship at Portimao, did not go exactly to plan for Yukio Kagayama or new boy Sylvain Guintoli. Neither finished the first race, but Sylvain did manage a tenth place in race two, with Yukio just behind in eleventh. But it was encouraging to see how quickly and easily Sylvain has become part of the team and that bodes well for the tests on Tuesday and Wednesday this week and the future.
Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) had a fifteen point point lead over Ben Spies (Yamaha) before today's title showdown, but that evaporated when he crashed out after just six laps of the first race. Spies won the race, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) second and Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third, giving Spies a 15 point lead going into the final race of the year. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) won the race, with Haga second and Rea third, but Spies took fifth place to take the title by just six points.
Sylvain - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 10th
Generally, this has been a great learning experience and I am very happy how it has all gone. The team and I gelled right from the start and we have worked together very well this weekend and that's good news for the future.
I had a technical problem in race one and had to pull out of the race. So, I was so happy to finish race two, be ahead of Yukio and get a top ten result.
This series is tough for sure, but I am really looking forward to the challenge and fighting all these guys. This weekend was no pressure for me and I enjoyed myself on this track. I am looking forward to the tests here on Tuesday and Wednesday and getting to understand the bike more and more.
Yukio - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 11th
I am angry about my last race with this great team because it did not go as I wanted. On the first lap of the first race I was hit from behind by Camier and that caused me to crash. He must have missed his braking point by a long way, but the really bad thing is that he kept upright and carried on to finish the race, whereas I was down in the gravel. That was not a good start to the day and I came back to the pits feeling very angry. After the second race, he came to see me and he apologised for hitting me, so then I did not feel so bad.
My bike was too badly damaged to use in race two, so I had to use my spare bike instead. This bike had a different set-up and was more aggressive to ride, so it was not easy to push it hard. I think this bike had a different engine character and it was just not as rideable as my number one bike. I did my best, but I ended 11th and that did not make me feel happy.
I am sad because this is my last race with the team and we have had many good times together, especially in my first year with them in 2005. Some mechanics have changed from my team to my team mate's team, but most of the mechanics have worked with me at some stage and that makes it feel like a big family. I want to thank Francis Batta, Patricia, the whole team and everybody concerned for all their hard work and support during these five years. I will miss them all, but maybe I will get a wild card ride in England next year and see everybody again. Once again, many thanks to everybody.
[PRESS RELEASE] WSBK'09 Round 14 | Portimo, race day
Shakey barely missed the podium twice today as he ended the season with two fourth places and engaged in a duel which pretty much decided the championship's outcome.
Today's results enabled him to take eighth place in the standings from Tom Sykes. It was a prestigious result after only a season in World Superbikes.
Byrne started battling for the podium from the first laps in race 1 until the end. He first got in a duel with Rea and then with Biaggi but finished just 4 tenths of a second off the podium.
In race 2, he put in a great performance as he got a great start and took the lead for which he battled with Rea for three quarters of the race. He gave it his all but had to up the pace due to worn tyres and finished fourth yet again after being overtaken by Fabrizio and, in the end, by Haga who was trying to win the title.
SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 4th, 4th: "I gave it my all in both races and I would've really enjoyed finishing on the podium but it was honestly impossible for me to do better than this. The team did a great job the entire weekend, the bike peformed very well and so I was able to compete with the factory riders for the top positions.
I'd like to thank all the members of the team who worked really hard this season so I could finish eighth in the riders' standings".
MARCO BORCIANI - team manager: "Shakey was fantastic today, he proved his talent. I hope I'll be able to work alongside him next season as well. He is a great rider and a great teammate. I'd also like to thank all the team's collaborators. We ended well a very positive season during which we established ourselves as one of the best private teams".
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Haslam charges hard but ends final round without points
Sunday 25th of June 2009
Leon Haslam took a impressive sixth place finish in the 2009 World Superbike Championships with his rookie Stiggy Racing Honda team.
The British rider has successfully taken not less then 11 top five finishes this year, including four podium places and because of these results he has become the best Superbike privateer rider. The 2009 season started with a podium finish for the team but unfortunately it didn't end as well as it started at the ultimate round in Portimao today.
Leon suffered a crash in the ultimate minutes of today's warm-up session, leaving an open gash to his left elbow that had to be fixed up with number of stitches to close the wound. Despite his injury Leon charged hard in today's two races. Starting from a second row on the grid Leon was up to a fifth place in the first couple of laps. But the Brit suffered front-end problems right from the start of the race and while in sixth place, half way through the race, Leon lost grip and crashed out. Luckily, no further injuries was sustained. Going out for the second 22-lap race, Leon decided to race on his number two bike as his number one bike had been damaged in the crash. But again small issues with his machine occurred and only seven laps into the race Leon was forced to retire due to technical problems.
Leon Haslam - Race 1-DNF, Race 2-DNF:
"In race one we had a few issues with the setup using a too hard front tyre. I ended up crashing because I was touching the shifter which was too bad as it would have been an easy top five finish otherwise. In race two we got the settings loads better and I just got past Spies and was in a big group of riders, up to the front runners. This was not the best of weekends but it has been a fantastic year so we just have to forget about today with the injuries and the crashes. It's been an awesome year and now I'm looking forward to the future."
Johan Stigefelt - Team Manager:
-" We didn't have a good day today, we wanted to finish off the season on a high, especially as we started it off so well. But we have to remember that we were new to this class and that we still managed a sixth place championship finish, as the best privateer and among that several podiums, so we have to be happy with that. If we didn't have the problems we had with the settings and bike today, we would have been up there in the top for sure. It has been a long and very hard season for us and everyone in the team has deserved a good finish to the end of the season. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the guys in the team for their great and hard work and big thanks to Leon for his excellent performances. We wish him all the best for the future."
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