2008 Hannspree World SuperBike Championship Round 8, Misano, San Marino, June 29th Race Report
NEUKIRCHNER AND XAUS TAKE WIN EACH AT MISANO
In front of 68,000 spectators at San Marino both Alstare Suzuki's Max Neukirchner and Sterilgarda Go-Eleven Ducati's Ruben Xaus took a race win apiece with Xerox Ducati's Troy Bayliss taking a second and a third to increase his championship lead by 49 points.
Race One. In a thriller of a race Germany's Alstare Suzuki's Max Neukirchner fought from tenth place on the grid to take his second victory of the year. The 22-year-old German stepped up the pace in the second part of the race to catch up the front runners Ruben Xaus, Troy Bayliss and Troy Corser to eventually take the lead ans secure his second win of the year ahead of Yamaha Motor Italia's Troy Corser and Xerox Ducati's Troy Bayliss with Sterilgarda Go-Eleven Ducati's Ruben Xaus taking fourth. Hannspree Ten Honda's Carlos Checa managed to hold off RG Team Ducati's Lorenzo Lanzi to take fifth with Guandalini Racing Ducati's Jakub Smrz in seventh. Yamaha Motor Italia's Nori Haga had a tough weekend as he started from nineteenth on the grid to finish tenth but the race did'nt fair to well for Sterilgarda Go-Eleven Ducati's Max Biaggi as he was taken out by Xerox Ducati's Michel Fabrizio in a collision on lap tweleve.
Race Two. The second race of the day saw an unexpected win from Sterilgarda Go-Eleven Ducati's Ruben Xaus with team-mate Max Biaggi taking second. Ruben Xaus took his first win of the year ahead of Max Biaggi who capitalized from a mistake from Xerox Ducati's Troy Bayliss to take the second spot on the podium. Fourth and fifth went to the two Yamaha Motor Italia riders Nori Haga and Troy Corser, with Haga making an amends from race one where he finished down in tenth. RG Team Ducati's Lorenzo Lanzi went on to finish sixth ahead of race one winner Alstare Suzuki's Max Neukirchner in seventh as Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's Carlos Checa finished in eighth and dropped one place to third in the overall standings.
WORLD SUPERSPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP. Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's Andrew Pitt secured third win in four races, the Australian comfortably taking the chequered flag after his rival Yamaha World Supersports Broc Parkes crashed out on lap nine. The three podiums all went Honda's with Parkalgar Racing's Craig Jones finishing second ahead of Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's Johnny Rea. Fourth place went to Frenchman Yamaha World Supersports Fabien Foret who missed out on a chance of a podium after going wide and running off the track only to rejoin the race in sixteenth.
