2009 Hannspree World SuperBike Championship Round 1, Phillip Island, Australia, March 1st Race Report
NORI HAGA AND BEN SPIES TAKE A RACE WIN APIECE AT PHILIP ISLAND
Xerox Ducati's Nori Haga took his first win of the 2009 season at the opening round of the 2009 Hannspree World Superbike Championship at Philip Island in Australia which saw the Japanese star edge out Germany's Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner for the race win. In race two Haga could not repeat his race one victory in front of the 69,300 strong crowd as pole sitter Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies took the win with Britain's Leon Haslam in third for the Stiggy Racing Honda squad.
Race One. After a poor qualifying session in the new shoot out formula superpole, Xerox Ducati rider Nori Haga who started from thirteenth on the grid powered his way to his first world superbike win for the Xerox team, but the Japanese star did not have it all his own wat as he was pushed all the way to the line by Germany's Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner and took the win by just 0.32 of a second with Neukirchner's team-mate Yukio Kagayam in third. Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies who started from pole was pushed wide on the opening lap into the gravel where he was able to rejoin the race and finish just outside the points in sixteenth, while BMW rider Troy Corser also had a great start from the fifth to eventually finish in eighth and set the fastest lap record.
Race Two. After allowing himself to be pushed wide and out of the points in race one pole sitter Ben Spies went all out to deny Xerox Ducati's Nori Haga the double win as the Yamaha World Superbike pulled out healthy lead over the Japanese star with a few laps to go and take his first win in the superbike championship with a brilliant ride from Britains Leon Haslam in third giving the Stiggy Racing Honda team their first ever podium in the superbike class. France's Regis Laconi is starting to find his race form by taking fourth on the DFX Corse Ducati machine and meanwhile beating the factory Xerox Ducati of Michel Fabrizio in the process. Also flying the flag for Great Britain was Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's Johnny Rea who took fifth in race one and ninth in race two as Yamaha World Superbike's Tom Sykes took two tenth places while Althea Honda's Tommy Hill was in the points with two fourteenth place finishes. It was a bad start to Shane Bryne's title campaign as the Sterilgarda Ducati rider who had shined in the previous tests crashed out of race one on lap seven injuring his hand, buy despite the pain started in race two only to crash out again and leave Philip Island with no points.
WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP. After a tough year in the World Superbike Championship in 2008 for the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda squad Kenan Sofuoglu returned to his winning ways that brought him the world title in 2007 by beating team-mate and current world champion Andrew Pitt on his home soil to the delight of Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's team manager Ronald Ten Kate who saw both his riders take podium finishes. In third it was an Aussie affair as Stiggy Racing Honda's Anthony West made his full time deubut in the 600cc class.
