These just in:

Spies takes another race victory in drama filled Magny Cours

It was yet another tough race weekend for Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies at Magny Cours today. The penultimate round of the 2009 championship saw Spies take one race victory, and then hang on desperately for points with a front tyre that struggled to perform in race two.

The American rider took the lead from the start of the first race, hotly pursued by championship rival Noriyuki Haga. Spies held onto the lead until the last lap, where Haga managed to pass. His lead was short lived however as Spies retook the front position a few seconds later to cross the line and claim his 13th win of the season. Race two saw him off the line into third chasing Biaggi and Haga into the first corner. It soon became apparent that Spies was finding it hard to lay down power in the corners, as his front tyre hampered his attack. Rea made a pass at the end of the first lap dropping Ben to fourth, a position he managed to hold until the line, despite dropping nearly a second a lap from the front group over the last few laps of the race.

Tom Sykes endured a disastrous race day; the second lap of the first race saw the rider over brake slightly, causing a huge crash sending his bike catapulting down the track, narrowly missing him. Sykes was uninjured barring a small break to his right little finger, so rejoined for race two. Unfortunately on the second lap of the second race, a yellow flag caused rider Carlos Checa a moment of indecision, resulting in him running too hot into Sykes at the hairpin and taking him out. Fortunately he has just a bruised shoulder but will be fit for the Portimao races.

Spies now heads into the final two races at the Portimao circuit with 426 points, trailing championship leader Haga on 436 by ten points. A double win in Portugal will secure the title for the all-time greatest rookie in the series. Team mate Tom Sykes remains in eighth position heading to the last round, on 176 points and trailing seventh placed rider Checa by 24 points.

Ben Spies

Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (1st, 4th)
"The whole first race had some good parts and bad ones. We made some small mistakes, costing us a tenth here and a tenth there letting the riders come back and not really taking advantage of the lead. I made a mistake on the last lap and let Nori through, so I had to get on the outside and get back past. Honestly I'm just super disappointed with the second race. We made a rear tyre choice which was neither better nor worse, but the front tyre we had on in the second race was hard to go at a pace with. I was consistently half a second off what we were doing in practice. I'm honestly surprised we didn't finish in tenth with the way the bike felt. Even if we had won today we would still go to Portimao having to win both races so it doesn't really change too much."

Tom Sykes

Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (DNF, DNF)
"race one I made a bit of a mistake, I went for the brake lever and it was just a touch further out than I normally have it so my initial brake pressure was really strong and I knew that, but I had a split second and I lost the front and couldn't save it. It was a massive crash and I was lucky to get away with it. For race two we changed the rear tyre, which I wasn't convinced was the right one but we went with anyway, unfortunately I was proved right and was struggling with it. Before I could do anything, going into the hairpin Carlos Checa made a big mistake and I got caught up in that and landed badly, pulling the muscles in my shoulder. Luckily nothing broken, so a weekend to forget, and I'm looking forward to something better in Portimao."

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"We won the first race, and we were thinking we would catch up some more points to Nori in the second. Something went wrong, unfortunately outside of our control, and there was nothing Ben could do to ride round it. We are going to Portimao with just one target, to win both races, which I think is possible. Tom had a really bad weekend with three crashes, I'm sorry for him as he was trying really hard to get results and unfortunately for him everything went wrong. We will see what happens in Portugal."

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SBK, RACE 1: BIAGGI CLIMBS ATOP THE THIRD STEP OF THE PODIUM

It was a cold and windy day at the Magny Cours circuit but the spectators
crowded the bleachers just the same for Race 1 of the SBK. Vince Spies, on
his Yamaha Factory, raced to the finish line, 0:181 ahead of Haga and 5:009
ahead of Max Biaggi's RSV4 which finished in third place.
Spies started off well from the pole position followed by Biaggi, Rea and
Haga, breaking away immediately from all of the others. The American pushed
the pace trying to break away but the others would not give up, even though
Rea was forced to pull out during the sixth lap. Then it was Biaggi who
became the star of the race. Stuck between a rock and a hard place midway
through the race he managed to gain ground on Spies, but he closed off any
possible entryway to Haga. The race continued that way, at a record-setting
pace, up until the sixteenth lap when Max made a mistake and was passed by
the Japanese driver. The Roman driver tried to fight back at the first
curve, but he took it long and lost ground, so during last five laps, he
controlled third place allowing him to conquer his sixth podium of the
season after last week's win at Imola.
During his first SBK race with the RSV4, Leon Camier was forced to pull out
just three laps before the end of the race due to a technical problem. The
Brit, after failing to start off well, struggled to set the pace during the
first laps, and was also slowed down by Sykes' spectacular fall, but
halfway through the race he began to achieve some excellent times, managing
to catch up to the group that was battling it out for sixth position, until
he had to abandon the race in eleventh position.

"It was a very exciting race," said Biaggi, "I started off well, but Spies
was pushing hard. During the second part of the race I had a good rhythm
and the tyres were working well, so I tried to catch up with him. Just five
laps from the end, however, I made a mistake so Haga passed me, and during
the next bend I tried to pass him, but I went long and lost a lot of
ground. I'm happy, the team did a great job and we found an excellent
foundation for Race 2."

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Jonathan Rea finished third in today's second World Superbike championship race at Magny-Cours in France, going some way to make up for a disappointing retirement in race one.

The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland had shown impressive pace throughout the weekend and started today's two 23-lap races from second on the grid. However, the first encounter was to prove short-lived as Rea was forced to retire with a mechanical problem.

In race two, Rea battled with eventual race winner, Noriyuki Haga, and Max Biaggi, with race one winner, Ben Spies, in hot pursuit. In the closing laps, he dropped off the pace for a safe third place, his sixth podium finish in his rookie SBK season.

Rea's Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Carlos Checa, struggled to find the right set up for this weekend's races but rode to a hard-fought sixth place in today's first encounter. The Spaniard finished ninth in an eventful race two.

Jonathan Rea - DNF & 3rd

All weekend we've had a good pace but it just seems that, come the first race, we couldn't put it together. I'm really sorry for the team because I take a lot of the blame for that. It put me out of my rhythm and then I got a bit of arm pump towards the end of race two. I was running with the guys at the front until about five laps from the end because the package we had here was as strong as at Imola last week. We'll regroup back at the workshop and come back strong for Portimao.

Carlos Checa - 6th and 9th

Race one was not fantastic but sixth was acceptable after the problems we have had this weekend. In race two I lost 10 seconds at the start, trying to exit the first gear hairpin in second gear, and then I almost crashed at the last chicane. I got caught up in Fabrizio's crash because I was trying to pass Sykes and then I saw the yellow flags. It was too late to do anything about it and I think Sykes crashed behind me, so I'm sorry for that. Afterwards, I just tried to find a good pace and finish as high as possible. The bike and the team are in good shape - I just didn't have the right level of confidence this weekend.

Ronald ten Kate - team manager

After his problems in race one, at least we finally got a result with Johnny in race two. Both he and the team thoroughly deserved that. Carlos showed some good pace although his results were a little disappointing. We're all looking forward to Portimao, which suits the characteristics of the CBR1000RR and we had some good results there last year.

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WSBK'09 Round 13 | Magny-Cours, race day
 
Shakey Byrne rode two gritty races thanks to his sheer determination at the Magny Cours circuit today. The English rider got a good start in race 1 but lost a few positions in the first corners. He climbed up a few spots and  then engaged in a nice duel with Troy Corser, at the end of which he finished eighth. In race 2, Shakey got a fantastic start to reach sixth place at the end of lap one. He lead a small pack made up of Kagayama and Nieto, who were later joined by Muggeridge and Corser. Byrne kept the lead until the nineteenth lap when the Japanese, riding a factory Suzuki, managed to overtake him. Shakey then tried to recuperate his position and attacked him one last time but the Japanese defended well and finished just a few tenths of a second in front of him.

SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 8th, 7th: "I had a lot of fun in both races. I'd like to congratulate the team who have done a great job after yesterday when I really didn't get a good feeling from the front of the bike. In race 2, me and Kagayama kept overtaking each other. I gave it my all in both races but it seemed like the second one was taking forever. Now we'll end the season at Portimao, on a track where our bike can certainly perform much better".
 
MARCO BORCIANI - team manager: "We were the best private Ducati in both races yet again which means we're doing a very good job. Shakey was fantastic today and with these results he ensured his ninth place in the standings, just behind Sykes".
 
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Ryuichi Kiyonari crashed out of today's opening World Superbike race at Magny-Cours in France, breaking his right collarbone and excluding himself from the second race.
The Japanese ace broke the same collarbone at a test at the 4.41km French circuit last year, ruling him out of the 2008 races. He also crashed during qualifying on Friday, damaging the shoulder and compounding the injury in this afternoon's fall.

Today's two races were won by the championship's main protagonists, Ben Spies and Noriyuki Haga, who now head to the final round at Portimao with Haga leading by 10 points.

Ryuichi Kiyonari - DNF & DNS
I am very disappointed because I think we showed that we had some pace on Friday morning. After the crash in the afternoon, I have been in pain for all the sessions but was not feeling too bad for the races today. I was trying to pass Shakey Byrne just before the last chicane, but I think I got a bit close and used too much brake. That was it and I am very sorry for my team and all the hard work they have done for me recently. I will go back to Japan now and have another operation and hopefully I will be OK for Portimao.

Ronald ten Kate - team manager
Of course, it's very disappointing for Kiyo-san and the whole team. I think he will be happy not to see Magny-Cours for a while as the circuit does not seem to bring him very much luck. There have been glimpses recently of an improvement in the way Kiyo is working with the bike and we hope that that potential can be realised fully in the final races at Portimao.

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Press Release
MAGNY COURS - ROUND 13 -2/3/4 OCTOBER 2009 
 
 
Magny Cours,  Sunday 4th  October 2009 
 
 
Wins for Spies and Haga at Magny-Cours as Ducati take 16th Manufacturers' crown
 
Title contenders Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) scored a win apiece in the penultimate round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Superbike in front of a record 81,000 spectators at Magny-Cours but it is the Japanese rider who now has the advantage in the points table. The Texan dominated race 1 but Nitro-Nori responded in the second encounter with a lights-to-flag victory, as Spies was unable to go any higher than fourth. Ten points now separate the two as the series heads for its final round in Portugal in three weeks time. Max Biaggi scored two more podium finishes for Aprilia Racing, a third and a second, Jonathan Rea grabbed a third for Hannspree Ten Kate Honda, while Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) had an off day.
 
Race 1
Spies and Haga predictably set the first race alight as they fought for the win. At the flag it was the Texan who took the maximum points with his 13th win of the season after leading from the start, but he was made to fight for it by his Japanese rival. Haga was the quickest man on the track at the end but paid the price of a slow start and being held up behind Biaggi for too long, thus losing touch with Spies. The Italian did take the final podium slot however, confirming the RSV4's competitiveness at the French circuit. Fourth place went to Fabrizio, who lost touch with the leading group in the early stages, losing out on any chance of the podium. Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing) was the leading Honda man to the finish with a positive fifth place, ahead of the Hannspree Ten Kate machine of Carlos Checa. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) had a good run in seventh, the Japanese rider finishing ahead of Shane Byrne (Ducati Sterilgarda) and the BMW of Troy Corser. Jonathan Rea had a technical problem and was out on lap 7, and another problem also brought a halt to the debut race for Leon Camier (Aprilia Racing).
 
Ben Spies: "I had some good parts of the race and some bad ones. We made a lot of very small mistakes, but I was taking care to make it easy when I had the cushion. I didn't take advantage of it and almost ruined the lead because they all came back to me. On the last lap I made another mistake and I knew that with me running wide, he probably went in a little bit tighter than normal and I would get him on the outside. It paid off!"
 
Noriyuki Haga: "If only I had one more lap something would have happened for sure! I made a mistake at the start because there was some problem with the bike. I just gained in the middle of the race in the top 3 and tried to start pushing. On the last lap I was thinking that Ben would make a mistake somewhere for sure and then he did at one corner. I almost passed but we made a good race anyway."

Max Biaggi: "I give it my best but I saw that Ben could do high 38s in the warm-up and that was very difficult for us. During the first part of the race I pushed hard and had a good tyre, I was fast in some parts of the track but not in others. But overall I'm near maximum. Then I made a mistake when Nori came, I put a wrong gear and he overtook me, but overall Aprilia and myself made a very good race."
 
Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 37'57.110 (160,392 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 0.181; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 5.009; 4. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 16.347; 5. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 22.622; 6. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 24.948; 7. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 27.144; 8. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 27.578; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 28.486; 10. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 28.716; 11. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 52.680; 12. Baiocco M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'01.372 ; 13. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'05.123; 14. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'05.483; 15. Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1'05.672; 16. Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'29.284            
 
Race 2
Haga made amends in the second race, the Ducati Xerox man dominating almost from start to finish after a much better start. Haga got the better of Biaggi on the opening lap and then held the pace right until the end for his eighth win of the season. Spies this time could only struggle to fourth after encountering tyre problems. Biaggi had a great scrap with Rea for second, while Haslam put in another solid performance to take his Stiggy Racing Honda to another fifth. The two Suzukis went quite well at the French circuit, with both riders finishing in the top 10, Yukio Kagayama sixth and Karl Muggeridge eighth, but BMW could only bring their men home in tenth (Corser) and twelfth (Xaus). Fabrizio had another rather unconvincing run, the Italian crashing out while trying to pass Byrne and then remounting to finish in thirteenth place.
 
Noriyuki Haga: "For sure this is an important win for me. Especially after Nurburgring I don't sleep every night because I am always thinking about the position in the championship. I'm really happy with this second place and win, my chief engineer made a good setting for race 2 and the feeling was good for race pace distance. I couldn't make an advantage from Max and Johnny but concentrated on the last laps to take this win, which gave the Manufacturers' title to Ducati."
 
Max Biaggi: "I'm very happy and it was a very hard race. From the beginning everyone was fast, the top 4 or 5 were at a very similar pace. I had a good rhythm, I followed Nori, he looked very confident, I was wondering if he could keep the pace until the end and I got my answer because he was still lapping well. At the start of the race someone ran off the track and a big stone broke my window and I was worried that the radiator was broken. I started to push again and for me it was a good race."
 
Jonathan Rea: "All weekend we just haven't been able to put it all together. The bad luck we had in race 1 certainly ruined my rhythm and I had a bit of arm pump at the end because it was hard to jump into a race distance straight away. I rode fantastic at the front and was with those guys until five laps to go but couldn't hold onto the back of them. The package I had was as strong as in Imola, we'll go back to the workshop and come back strong at Portimao."
 
Results: 1. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R     38'00.282 (160,169 kph); 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1.480; 3. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 6.024; 4. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 18.135; 5. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 21.236; 6. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 23.647; 7. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 23.701; 8. Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 24.838; 9. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 31.455; 10. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 32.507; 11. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 37.594; 12. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 44.727; 13. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 49.782; 14. Baiocco M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 50.345; 15. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 56.209; 16. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 58.796
 
Points (after 13 of 14 rounds): 1. Haga 436; 2. Spies 426; 3. Fabrizio 346; 4. Biaggi 293; 6. Rea 279; 6. Haslam 241; 7. Checa 200; 8. Sykes 176; 9. Byrne 166; 10. Smrz 161.
 

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DUCATI SNATCHES THE WORLD SUPERBIKE CONSTRUCTORS TITLE FOR THE 16TH TIME; HAGA (DUCATI XEROX) REGAINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

Magny-Cours (France), Sunday 4th October 2009: this afternoon on the French track of Magny-Cours, Noriyuki Haga took a fantastic Race 2 win on board his Ducati 1198, coming straight after his second place finish in the first race. With these results, Noriyuki regains the championship lead with an advantage of ten points over Spies (Yamaha). At the end of this, the penultimate round, and thanks to today's two podiums, Ducati celebrates winning its sixteenth Constructors title in the World Superbike Championship. This was not the only success of the day as this morning the Belgian rider Xavier Simeon and the Ducati Xerox Junior Team won both the riders and constructors titles in the Superstock 1000 championship.

A spectacular first race in which the two championship leaders Haga and Spies battled it out for the victory until the final corners of the last lap. For the first fifteen laps Noriyuki was hot on the heels of Biaggi but found it hard to get past him. Finally, during the sixteenth lap of twenty-three, he made his move and got ahead of Max to move into second position, immediately turning his attention to closing the gap of more than a second that had opened between himself and race leader Spies. On the very last lap Nori had caught the American and when the latter made a mistake entering a corner, Nori took the opportunity to get up alongside Ben but unfortunately he couldn't hold the line into the next corner and so it was Spies on the Yamaha to cross the line first, just 0.181 of a second ahead of Haga. Fabrizio did not made a good start and then had to work to pass Haslam on the Honda. By the time he managed this, during the course of the fourth lap, the gap between himself and the leaders was already fairly large and it was impossible to catch up. Michel concluded the race in a solid fourth place, 5 seconds behind Biaggi and 11 seconds ahead of Haslam.

In Race 2 Noriyuki made a blazing start and after a few corners he got straight past Biaggi to take the race lead, closely followed by both Biaggi on the Aprilia and Rea on the Honda. Haga pushed hard from the start but was unable to shake the chasing pair. In this race however, it was the Japanese rider who was the stronger competitor and, aware of the importance of the points, he continued to push to ensure himself of the win, his eighth of the season. Fabrizio unfortunately fell on lap three, having erred while braking at the end of the straight. He managed to rejoin the race and subsequently made a good recovery, moving up from last position to thirteenth and thus gaining two points.

Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 - 2nd , Race 2 - winner)

In Race 1 I really enjoyed myself, it was a fantastic race. I didn't make the best start and then it took a lot of laps before I was able to pass Max. Once I got past him I realized I didn't have many laps left in which to catch Ben; if I'd had just one extra lap, I think I'd have won. On the last lap I was waiting for Ben to make a mistake and when he did so, I managed to get up alongside him but unfortunately the next corner worked in his favour and he got past me. Then, in the second race, we made some small changes to my bike and they worked, giving me more confidence. This victory is truly a great result as we have regained a small advantage. I am also extremely pleased that my results have awarded us the Constructors title. Thanks to Ducati and to my race engineer Ernesto Marinelli for giving me a great bike for Race 2; and to the whole Ducati Xerox team because my first year in Ducati is fantastic. Now we go to Portimao where Ben and I will fight for the 2009 title - I can't wait."

Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 - 4th , Race 2 - 13°)

"Obviously I'm very disappointed by my results today; I hoped to do a lot better. In Race 1 I wasn't able to catch the leading group and finished in fourth which isn't bad but I would have liked to be on the podium. My bad start in the second race conditioned the outcome, I tried to catch up quickly so as not to lose the leaders as I'd done in Race 1 but unfortunately I messed up my braking at the end of the straight and lost the front. I am very sorry because I think I could have got past Spies, giving Nori a couple more points. My compliments go to Nori because he was very strong today and deserved the win."

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HONDA RACING INFORMATION

French World Superbike at Magny-Cours
Sunday 4 October 2009
World Superbike and World Supersport race report

Crowd: 81,000 claimed all weekend
Temperature
Air - 15 to 20°C
Ground - 19 to 28°C

REA FAST AND ON THE PODIUM AT PENULTIMATE ROUND

Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR)
capitalised on his second place grid position in
today's second race to secure a podium finish at
Magny-Cours, after being forced out of the first
race. In no scoring and then finishing third
today he is now fifth in the championship, with
only the final round in Portimao to come, on October 25.

Rea was contesting the leading positions in each
23-lap Magny-Cours race, but in the first it was
up to Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR)
to finally secure the top Honda scoring position
of fifth, a result he would repeat in race two.
Leon is now sixth overall, 38 points behind Rea.
Haslam had qualified sixth in Superpole.

Only 12th in qualifying, Carlos Checa (Hannspree
Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) posted a fine sixth in
race one, but was ninth in race two, after some
moments of drama. He is now on 200 points
exactly, in overall seventh place, 24 points ahead of the following rider.

The Magny-Cours races were won by first Ben Spies
and then Noriyuki Haga, leaving those two riders
to dispute the title itself at the final round.
Haga is currently on 436 points, Spies on 426.

A tough weekend for Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate
Honda CBR1000RR) saw him qualify down in 17th
place, only reaching Superpole one, and then he
fell in race one today, breaking his collarbone again.

In his first WSB race Italian rider Flavio
Gentile (Althea Honda CBR1000RR) qualified 25th
and raced to 17th in race one, but hurt his
shoulder and arm in the process, dropping himself
out of contention for a ride in race two. He will
now race WSS at Portimao, with regular rider
Matthieu Lagrive coming back into the Superbike set-up.

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Team Suzuki Alstare news
2009 Superbike World Championship
Round 13, Magny-Cours, France
Sunday 4th October
Circuit: 4.411 kms. Crowd: 81,000 (3-day). Conditions: Dry, cloudy/sunny 15-20 C.
YUKIO'S BEST WEEKEND SINCE THE SEASON OPENER.
Team Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama enjoyed his best race weekend this season since the opening round in Australia in March. But although he managed a seventh in race one and a sixth in race two, he is looking forward to further improvement in the next round in Portimao in three weeks.
His team mate Karl Muggeridge had a slow speed tumble in race one, but then made amends by posting a solid eighth position in race two.
Ben Spies (Yamaha) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) took a win apiece today, to leave Haga leading the championship by just ten points. Spies won today's first race, with Haga second and Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third. Haga got his revenge in race two, with Biaggi second and Jonathan Rea (Honda) third.

Yukio - Race 1: 7th, Race 2: 6th
Today my results were the best they have been for a long time, but I want more. The progress the bike has made on its new suspension has been good, but again, I want more. There have been some not so fun times this season, but at Imola last week and here in Magny-Cours, I am enjoying being a racer again. The settings we used on the bike today were the best they have been this weekend, so a big thank you to my team for doing a good job. There were still some problems with rear grip, but I hope that we can solve this problem in Portimao. I am looking forward to continuing the good progress there and ending the season on a high.

Karl - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 8th
I suppose the crash in race one was probably my mistake. It was early in the race and the fuel tank was full and I must have got in a bit too hot and lost the front. Maybe because of this, I rode a bit tentatively at the beginning of race two and it took me a bit of time to get going properly. My bike was OK on the fast sweepers, but it struggled for grip on the slow, small corners and I reckon that cost me about four to five tenths of a second each lap. I am getting more used to the bike every time out and feel we are making good progress with it and the new suspension. Hopefully, I will have another chance in the next round, but I'll wait and see on that.

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Stiggy Racing Honda riders impress in Magny-Cours races

Sunday, October 4
Leon Haslam proved once again his potential in the ultra competitive World Superbike Championship pulling off two impressive race performances, finishing the penultimate races of the 2009 season with two top five finishes at Magny-Cours. Team mate Anthony West made a successful attempt to put some previous disappointing race results behind him by putting in a blistering performance today onboard his Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR taking a hard fought fourth place finish.
Leon started race one from a sixth place and quickly moved up to take fourth place on lap one. Falling back to sixth after getting passed by both factory Ducati rider's Haga and Fabrizio the Englishman immediately felt his rear tyre starting to slide. Haslam had to fight hard throughout the 23 lap race keeping his race pace up but finally crossed the finish-line in fifth place and as the best Honda rider. In race two Leon settled in fifth place charging to catch the leading group in front of him and at the same time keeping Byrne behind him. Despite having some technical issues with his machine Haslam crossed the finish line in fifth place and is currently holding sixth place in the overall Championship standings with just one round remaining of the 2009 WSBK season.
Anthony got off to a really good start and put in a hard first couple of laps. Starting from a 16th place on the grid he was up in 10th already on lap three. West quickly found his rhythm and race pace making the same lap times as the front runners. After finally getting past riders who had held him up, Anthony started to push further a couple of laps later he caught up with the group in front of him. Battling for fifth and fourth places West finally took the lead of the four rider group, but just two laps after he fell back down again to a seventh. With only two laps to go the race got stopped due to a crash and as a result, (counting the lap previous to the red flag as final position) Anthony finished today's race in a well deserved fourth place and moved himself up in the current championship standings to a fifth place.
Leon Haslam - Race 1 - 5th, Race 2 - 5th:
"We had a little problem in race one that held us back from the leaders. In race two, in the early part of the race, we had a lot better set-up. But after about lap six or seven the bike was surging a bit so I reset the electronics. A few minor things held us back from challenging for a podium or two but I am pretty happy to get a couple of fifths."
Anthony West - 4th:
"I was a lot better today and I think it was really just down to my feeling and the nature of this track. The set-up of the bike is still not quite what I want to have but for this track there are a lot of places to pass. I got to the group in front of me off the start pretty easy, but once I got to them it was hard to get away. But I ended up leading them on the final lap and I moved up in the championship."
Johan Stigefelt - Team Manager:
"Leon had two great races today. Two strong fifth place finishes and best Honda rider in race one, I can't be more than satisfied. His good results today have strengthened his sixth place in the championship, closing in on fifth. I hope we can continue this success all the way to the end of the season in the next races at Portimao. I'm very happy with Anthony's race result, he proved that he is still a force in this Championship. It has been a hard time for him lately and to come back this strong at a track he didn't know just two days ago is just great. With his fourth place finish today he moved himself up in the championship to a fifth so I'm very pleased with that too."

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SBK, RACE 1: BIAGGI, IN SECOND PLACE, CLIMBS ATOP THE PODIUM ONCE AGAIN

The sun was shining at Magny Cours for Race 2 of the French round of the
SBK. The 81,000 spectators present watched a race that was extremely hard
fought, right up until the final moments, and concluded with Haga's victory
just ahead of Max Biaggi's RSV4 and Rea's Honda.
Biaggi started off very well from fourth position and immediately jumped
into the lead, followed by Haga, Rea and Spies, but at the end of the first
round, it was the Japanese driver who took over the first place position
and set the pace of the selection. Max continued to stay attached to the
Ducati with Rea right behind him and the native of Northern Ireland took
over second position in the seventh lap. Halfway through the race, Haga
seemed to be breaking away, but Biaggi passed quickly and Rea set off
behind him, but the Honda didn't give up until just five laps before the
end when the Roman driver closed the gap with the Japanese driver to just a
half second, while the Brit slipped back and had to make do with third
place. Biaggi seemed to be getting closer and closer in the first two
sections of the track, while the Ducati lengthened the gap in the third. In
the end, Haga would be the first to cross under the chequered flag with a
time of 1:480 on the RSV4.
Biaggi climbed atop the podium once again after his third place finish in
Race 1, for the seventh time this season, in addition to his victory at
Brno and this is the third double win this season after two third place
finishes in Qatar, and the victory and second place finish in the Czech
Republic.
Another dropout froze Leon Camier's Superbike debut with the RSV4. This
time the Brit started off well and for more than half the race he battled
it out for sixth place with a group of competitors despite a few too many
errors that forced him to remount each time. Unfortunately, during the
fifteenth lap the Aprilia's engine overheated and forced him to pull out
while he was in ninth position.

"I'm very happy," declared Biaggi. "It was a very difficult race; we were
all quite fast and all at the same level, especially during the first part
of the race. Haga had set an excellent pace but he wasn't too far ahead,
even though a stone broke my front fairing halfway through the race and I
lost ground to check and make sure the radiator wasn't broken. Then I
managed to get back on and I tried to catch up to the Japanese driver
during the final laps. It was a nice battle that we drove to the limit. We
had an excellent race; we've grown a lot in these last few rounds, and
after the first heat we made some small changes that worked quite well. I
dedicate this second place finish to my team, which is truly fantastic."

"I used a different approach with the RSV4," said Camier, "which is quite
different from the other bikes that I've driven up until now. These last
few days I've managed to understand Aprilia's potential; I changed my
driving style and we worked a lot on the alignment, getting faster step by
step, to the point that this morning during the warm-up I finished in
fourth place with worn racing tyres that. I started off badly in Race 1,
and during the initial laps I was slowed down by some falls. When I got my
rhythm I caught up to the group that was fighting for sixth place, but then
I had to stop because of a problem with the gas pump. I started off better
in Race 2; I set a good pace and despite a few mistakes, I moved up to
ninth place, but I had to pull out again due to an engine problem. It was a
very positive debut for me, and I'm sure things will go better in
Portimao."

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