II Round WSBK Qatar

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Ten Kate Honda men head for desert showdown

The Ten Kate Honda team heads to the Losail circuit in Qatar this week (12-14 March) for round two of the 2009 World Superbike and World Supersport championships.

On the Superbike side of the garage, Jonathan Rea and Carlos Checa will be seeking to eliminate the rear grip issues that they experienced in the opening round at Phillip Island in Australia just over a week ago.

Ten Kate Honda Racing?s Ryuichi Kiyonari, racing under Honda Accessories colours this season, will also be looking for a marked improvement on his disappointing start in Australia. The Japanese ace was forced out in a crash on the opening lap of race one and then suffered from a dramatically early loss of rear grip in second encounter.

Meanwhile the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team?s defence of the World Supersport championship ? a title it has won every season since 2002 ? began in the best possible way at Phillip Island when Kenan Sofuoglu took a narrow victory ahead of team-mate and reigning champion Andrew Pitt.

It was a marked contrast to the team?s opening round last season, which was held in Qatar, when Pitt and his then Supersport team-mate, Jonathan Rea, both crashed out of the race on lap two.

2009 World Superbike Championship

Jonathan Rea ? Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade
I like Qatar, which is lucky, because I?ve done a lot of laps here. As well as the Supersport race last year, which we?ll skip over quickly, I?ve been involved in a couple of Honda CBR launches here, so I know the place pretty well. The results at Phillip Island weren?t fantastic but if you?d offered them to me before we left, I would?ve taken them. I?m pretty convinced that we?ll not suffer the same problems here ? instead of looking after the rear, it?ll be more a case of looking after the front tyre, and I think I?m pretty good at that.

Carlos Checa ? Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR
I really like the circuit in Qatar very much, but last year here everything was new to us, including the bike so, with the disappointment of Phillip Island behind us, we?re ready to go again. I?m looking forward to racing again this weekend ? my shoulder is much better and I should be able to ride the bike without any restrictions. I believe we can be more competitive and in a position that better reflects the quality of the CBR1000RR and the hard work of the team. The Losail circuit is flat and smooth and should allow us to operate with a better combination of tyres than in Australia.

Ryuichi Kiyonari ? Ten Kate Honda Racing CBR1000RR
I was so disappointed after the two races at Phillip Island ? especially after we had got the bike working well during practice and qualifying and we believed our race pace was good. But, after I got T-boned in the first race and had no rear grip in the second, I have had to put the disappointment behind me. Losail is not my favourite circuit but I am sure we will start over again here and get our season going with some better results.

2009 World Supersport Championship

Kenan Sofuoglu ? Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR
Phillip Island was the perfect start to the season for me and it felt fantastic to win again on the CBR600RR. It was a really tough race and it was clear that the championship is very competitive this season, especially with my team-mate, Andrew! Of course, I won the Supersport race here at Qatar in 2007 so I like the circuit, too. The team is strong, so we will aim to do it all over again this weekend to keep the momentum from our good start to the season.

Andrew Pitt ? Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR
I like the place and got my first World Superbike podium here, so it?s been good to me ? apart from last year, which was a little blip on the start to our season. I think the tyres will suit the circuit here a little better than they did in Australia, although the result there was pretty good, considering the problems we?d had before the race. I?ll be looking to go one step higher on the podium this weekend but I know Kenan will be there and have something to say about that!

Ronald ten Kate ? team manager
After analysing the data following our disappointing Superbike results from Australia, I believe we have found something new to start with at Losail that will serve us better. Our results here in the past have been pretty OK and we?ve had a couple of wins with James Toseland in 2006 and 2007, so it?s not a bad track for us at all. With Supersport, the list of prizes is even bigger and, apart from last year, which was not so good, we have won every race here. In the first round, preservation of the rear tyre was the key to our performance, but here there will be more attention on the front. Australia was the best possible start to our World Supersport campaign for this season, but we have a big challenge from our rivals this year and we will start it all over again this week and treat it like just another race.

 

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THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM FLIES TO QATAR; HAGA AIMS TO CONSOLIDATE THE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD.

Losail (Qatar), Monday 9th March: Just eight days after Noriyuki Haga?s debut win with the Ducati Xerox Team at Phillip Island, the Borgo-Panigale based squad departs for Qatar today for Round 2 of the 2009 World Superbike Championship.

Both Noriyuki and his Ducati Xerox team-mate Michel Fabrizio made a strong start to the season on board their Ducati 1198 machines, as Noriyuki?s win and second place took him straight to the top of the leader board, with a 15-point advantage over second-placed rider Neukirchner, while Michel lies in sixth position after securing strong fourth and fifth place finishes in the two Australian races. Noriyuki?s results also mean that Ducati currently leads the constructor?s championship.

Last year Qatar hosted the opening round of the championship and it was not an easy weekend for either Noriyuki or Michel. Both Ducati Xerox riders will be looking out for Corser and Biaggi, the riders that have faired the best at this track since it?s inclusion on the Superbike calendar for the first time in 2005.

Noriyuki Haga
A third place in 2006 is Noriyuki?s best result thus far at the Losail International Circuit.

?Well I can say that I?m very happy with how things went at the first races at Phillip Island and I?ll be trying my best to have an equally successful weekend at Qatar. I am very pleased with the performance of the 1198 and my team have been fantastic so we?ll be working hard to repeat our Phillip Island success. Each of the fourteen rounds will be a big challenge for me, and I will face each one in the same way, with the aim being always to win!?

Michel Fabrizio
After a third place finish in the Supersport race in 2005, Michel has not visited the podium here since moving to Superbike, his best result so far a fifth place last year.

?To be honest I hoped to do better at Phillip Island but what I didn?t do there I?ll be trying to do at Qatar of course. I?ve had ups and downs at Losail and the last time I was on the podium was in 2005 so it?s about time I stepped up there again! I?m in shape, I?m feeling comfortable on the 1198 and I?m ready to race. As long as we don?t get the rain that the GP guys just experienced over there, then we?ll be fine.?

THE CIRCUIT
Name: Losail International Circuit
Country: Qatar
Length: 5.380 km
Pole Position: right
Finish line length: 1068 metres
Race distance: 2 x 18 laps/96.840 km

LAP RECORDS: Best lap: Nieto (Suzuki), 1'59.156 (2008). Superpole: Bayliss (Ducati), 1'58.053 (2008).

2008 RESULTS: RACE 1: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox); 2. Biaggi (Ducati); 3. Corser (Yamaha) RACE 2: 1. Nieto (Suzuki); 2. Xaus (Ducati); 3. Biaggi (Ducati)

 

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WSBK Preview: Round 2, Doha, Qatar
NEW TERRITORY FOR TEAM BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT

Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport head to the Losail circuit in Qatar knowing that it will be harder to get another superb top ten position than it was in the opening round of the championship in Phillip Island, Australia. In Phillip Island the team benefited from a two-day test prior to the event, but their first chance of seeing the Losail racetrack will be the first practice session on Thursday morning. The circuit in Qatar will be just the first of many tracks about which the team have no data or information from previous seasons and their task will be that much harder than that of the competitors. The first two sessions will be vital for the Troy, Ruben and the team, but hopefully the experience of the riders will help the technicians do their work smartly and provide a good platform for raceday.

Troy
Getting an eighth in Phillip Island was a fantastic result and gave us all great hope for the season. But now we are going to a track and we have no data about if for our bike and that is going to be a big disadvantage. The race weekend in Phillip Island was real eye-opener for our team and things happened during the three days that don?t happen in tests, so the team gained a lot of experience. We all have to build on that but all the guys are very committed and are working hard to push this project forward as quickly as possible. Qatar will be an interesting test for us all, but we?re going to give it 100% and see what happens.

Ruben
I think that Phillip Island showed that our team is going to be competitor - and sooner rather than later. If I hadn?t had two or three collisions in race one, I am sure I would?ve had a much better result and probably been able to challenge for a top ten place. But at least, I stayed on the bike and I?m happy because Troy got a great result in the first race and we managed to finish both races. Qatar is going to be harder because our bike will be racing there for the first time and so we don?t have any data or telemetry to work from. We all have to be at 100% right from the start and push all the way to end, but this is a great team and who knows what may happen?

Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director)
It was great to finally start our big adventure and fantastic to get such a good result in the first race. If there hadn?t been a problem in Superpole, who knows what result would?ve been possible? Our team have a tremendous work ethic and I am so happy because I think everybody can see that we mean business and that we are going to be a competitive force before too long.

 

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Ten Kate riders in the desert hunt

Ten Kate Honda’s three riders all finished in the top five after today’s opening qualifying session for round two of the World Superbike championship in Qatar. Provisional pole position went to America’s Ben Spies, who was closely followed by Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider, Jonathan Rea.

Rea’s team-mate, Carlos Checa, set the third fastest time in today’s hour-long session after concentrating on race set-up in the morning practice session.

Meanwhile, Ryuichi Kiyonari, who was the first rider to break the two-minute barrier today, was fifth fastest to head the provisional second row for Saturday’s two 18-lappers around the 5.38km Losail circuit just outside Qatar’s capital, Doha.

Jonathan Rea – P2, 1’59.177s
That was a good start to the weekend. I’ve been really looking forward to coming here and feel that our package works better here. The CBR1000RR felt really good today and we managed good consistency of lap times when we did a little run. The crew has worked really hard and we’ve got some new parts working really well. It’ll be fun to see how the pace hots up tomorrow, because I think there’s some more to come.

Carlos Checa – P3, 1’59.731s
We worked with a harder tyre this morning and had to test both bikes to compare some new parts that we were trying out. We were expecting about a second out of the softer tyre and that came this afternoon. It gave a good feeling of consistency and the important thing is that we’re on the pace here. Johnny and Ben Spies seem to have a little extra at the moment but we don’t have the chatter here that we had at Phillip Island, so we’ll push harder again tomorrow. The package is good and we have a couple of options for race tyres, which we’ll test tomorrow.

Ryuichi Kiyonari – P5, 1’59.937s
It was not so bad today, and I think I can say I like the track a little better. The track is very tough on the bike and the tyres and the rider, but the bike was perfect today for maintaining good lap times. So a lot depends on rider performance tomorrow! I have already gone a lot better than after the first day last year, but everyone else is faster, too!

Ronald ten Kate – team manager
That was a good start to our weekend here in Qatar, with all three riders in the top five. It’s especially satisfying after our frustrating race day at Phillip Island, but we didn’t panic; we kept out heads together and came here with some small modifications, which seem to be working OK. But it’s still just the first day – we know how much work there is still to do in order to be ready for Saturday’s races.

Results – 2009 World Superbike championship, Losail, Qatar
Round two, first qualifying results:
1. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 1’58.886s
2. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’59.177s
3. Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’59.731s
4. Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 1’59.826s
5. Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing 1’59.937s
6. Shane Byrne (GBR) Ducati 1’59.980s

Provisional front row in Qatar for Sofuoglu

Kenan Sofuoglu has put his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR on the provisional front row for round two of the 2009 World Supersport championship in Qatar. The Turkish rider, who won the first round race at Phillip Island, was third fastest in today’s opening qualifying session at the 5.38km Losail circuit just outside Doha.

Provisional pole position went to Cal Crutchlow, with Fabien Foret second fastest, as Sofuoglu’s team-mate, Andrew Pitt, worked on machine set-up for Saturday’s 18-lap race. The Australian set the tenth fastest time today.

Kenan Sofuoglu – P3, 2’02.634s
The track was still quite slippery this morning after all the sand that was blown about yesterday, but it was definitely better this afternoon. The front row was all we wanted from today’s qualifying. We’ll do a longer run during practice tomorrow and go for the front row again, which is important for the race here. It’s a fast track and you need to carry some corner speed with the Honda CBR600RR here, so I had to adapt my riding style a little bit today.

Andrew Pitt – P10, 2’03.282s
There’s really only one choice of tyre here, and I had a few moments with the alternative, so that decision has already been made for us. The settings that we used at Phillip Island weren’t really working that well today so we’ve got some work to do. We need a little more weight on the front to make the bike turn more easily, so we should be there or thereabouts tomorrow.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager
It’s the first day on quite a dirty track so we’re reasonably happy with progress so far. We have a very easy decision to make on race tyres and we’re expecting another hard battle in Saturday’s race so we’re preparing in the only way we know – through hard work.

Results – 2009 World Supersport championship, Losail, Qatar
Round two, first qualifying results:
1. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha 2’02.634s
2. Fabien Foret (FRA) Yamaha 2’02.772s
3. Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 2’02.883
4. Matthieu Lagrive (FRA) Honda 2’02.950s
10. Andrew Pitt (AUS) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 2’03.282s

 

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QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 12/03/2009
Yamaha set the pace on day one at Qatar

The Yamaha World Superbike Team riders answered any questions raised about their ability to learn new tracks quickly on their first day of qualifying at the Qatar circuit. Three-time AMA champion Ben Spies finished the day fastest of all Superbike riders, with an impressive time of 1"58.886. Spies' team-mate, Young British star Tom Sykes also found his way around the dusty, sand-swept track quickly, spending most of the session lapping in the top three. His decision to hold back on fresh tires at the end of the session dropped him to 12th on the grid with a time of 2"00.283.

Both Spies and Sykes are new to the Qatar circuit in Losail, but have proved with their first day's qualifying, and supported by their results at Phillip Island that they are not daunted by the challenge of new circuits and can be quick straight out of the box. The all-new 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 is also proving to be an extremely competitive bike, taking the young riders to the front of the pack at the beginning of the season.

In contrast to other race rounds, the qualifying will take place tomorrow and the races on Saturday, the WSB lights going off at 10.00 and 13.30 CET and the WSS race at 11.25 CET.
Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team
"The track has been great for my first day here and the team have been working great as always, we're continuing to make the bike better and better, hopefully we can get even faster for the race! We can't forget there are many fast guys out here and I'm sure they're doing their homework too."
Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team
"I took it a little bit steady today, we've been working hard and trying race tires in preparation for Saturday. All in all were reasonably happy and it's left us a lot of tires to play with. Straight away I was in the top three in the session, I know I can run fairly consistently with the top guys, so tomorrow we're going to make some small changes to the bike and improve the set up. Australia didn't really happen in qualifying for me which made it harder in the race so I'm looking for a better grid position for Saturday."

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "The first practice and qualifying session went very well for the team today. Both Ben and Tom were very fast and I was pleased with how quickly they learnt the circuit. Tom decided to only use one set of tires this afternoon and was in the top five until fifteen minutes to the end when most of the riders changed tires. Ben was again very quick, adapting well to the new circuit and putting in an impressive qualifying time. We have more work to do tomorrow, but are pleased with the day."

Circuit Length: 5380
Lap Record:: 2' 0.061 (Noriyuki Haga, 01/01/2006)
Fastest Lap Ever:: 1' 58.053 (Troy Corser, 23/02/2008)
Last Years Winner:: Shuhei Aoyama
2009 WSB Qatar - Doha/Losail 12/03/2009
Qualifying 1
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 1'58.886
2 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1'59.177
3 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 1'59.731
4 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 1'59.826
5 Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 1'59.937
6 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 1'59.980
7 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 2'0.024
8 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 2'0.101
9 Regis Laconi Ducati FRA 2'0.232
10 Shinya Nakano Aprilia JPN 2'0.238
11 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 2'0.254
12 Tom Sykes Yamaha GBR 2'0.283
13 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 2'0.345
14 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 2'0.374
15 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 2'0.398

QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 12/03/2009
Yamaha World Supersport Team start from the top

Yamaha World Supersport Team riders Cal Crutchlow and Fabien Foret hit the ground running today in the first day of qualifying at the Qatar round of the World Supersport Championship. Crutchlow, who has never raced at Qatar previously, finished the day with an impressive fastest lap of 2"02.634, putting him at the top of the qualifying board. Experienced team-mate Fabien Foret, still nursing a shoulder injury from Phillip Island, was equally impressive, taking second spot on the day's qualifying with a time of 2"02.772

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team
"Not too bad a day for me considering I've never really done much on this track, it's been good for me to come to a circuit were everyone else has been before and still perform well. The track is good, it seems to suit our bike quite well too. We've still got some stuff to work on and I'm looking to make the most of tomorrow's testing and hopefully we can make a break in the race. I'd like to see us on the podium on Saturday."

Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team
"I'm a little bit sore, my shoulder is still achy and a bit tired. I'm surprised as I thought it would be completely better. We have it strapped up to ride with but it's not as good as I expected. This morning we had a few issues in practice, then I tried some new settings this afternoon in the early sessions before eventually moving back to last year's set-up. That felt good and we managed to get a reasonable time in the end. By the end of the session I was pretty confident, so I'm happy with the bike, just the shoulder is a bit tense and not so strong. I'm taking it easy and tomorrow will try to save a bit of my strength for the race itself."

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team manager
"So far so good, we still have some work to do but it seems that both riders are quite fast compared to the competition, however we think we will need to improve along with the others so we still have some work to do. We are not 100% cool, but we are happy to be first and second. Other than that we still have things to do as normal after a Friday session. Cal has never been here before so it's good that he's fast straight away here on our bike. Also good to see Fabien straight in where he needs to be, considering his arm is still not perfect."

Circuit Length: 5380
Lap Record:: 2' 3.921 (Sebastien Charpentier, 01/01/2006)
Fastest Lap Ever:: 2' 1.928 (Fabien Foret, 23/02/2008)
Last Years Winner:: Josep Pedro Subirats
2009 WSS Qatar - Doha/Losail 12/03/2009


Qualifying 1
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 2'2.634
2 Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 2'2.772
3 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 2'2.883
4 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 2'2.950
5 Mark Aitchinson Triumph AUS 2'3.065
6 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 2'3.111
7 Eugene Laverty Honda GBR 2'3.114
8 Garry McCoy Triumph AUS 2'3.177
9 Anthony West Honda AUS 2'3.253
10 Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 2'3.282
11 Gianluca Nannelli Triumph ITA 2'3.374
12 Michele Pirro Yamaha ITA 2'3.400
13 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 2'3.405
14 Miguel Praia Honda POR 2'3.410
15 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 2'3.560
25 Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha IDN 2'5.511
28 Jose Morillas Yamaha ESP 2'6.847
29 Yannick Guerra Yamaha ESP 2'7.154

 

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A LESS THAN EASY FIRST DAY FOR THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM AT LOSAIL

Losail (Qatar), Thursday 12th February: the Ducati Xerox Team faced hot and humid conditions today at the International Circuit of Losail with track temperatures in the high thirties during the afternoon?s first qualifying session.

This meant that Ducati Xerox man Noriyuki Haga, riding high on the back of his win at Phillip Island two weeks ago, and team-mate Michel Fabrizio both experienced a lack of grip, especially at the rear, which has meant that they have been working with their teams to find the best compromise regarding the set-up. Before the end of today Michel had registered the eighth fastest time and Noriyuki the eleventh fastest lap.

With the exception of two very fast times registered this afternoon by Yamaha rider Ben Spies and Honda?s Jonathan Rea, lap times were extremely close with seventeen riders lapping within a second of each other. Temperatures are set to rise even higher during the next two days, making for exciting racing on Saturday.

Michel Fabrizio 2m00.1s
?It feels like we lost his morning?s session as we completed very few laps so have had to make up for that this afternoon during qualifying, and haven?t had time to make the progress we hoped for. If we had gone straight out this morning without problems we would surely have done better than we did this afternoon. I have had some problems with grip and we need to see which tyres can last race distance but all in all, I?m reasonably confident for now and we know what we need to try tomorrow in second qualifying.?

Noriyuki Haga 2m00.2s
?Today was a strange day for me. We tried a different rear suspension setting to that used in Australia but the grip did not improve as we expected it to. Anyway the feeling I have with the 1198 is good and tomorrow we really just need to resolve the fact that I?m lacking rear grip. I will speak with my technicians again to decide how we will proceed tomorrow, we need to find a new way forward. There were some fast times recorded today so I need to pick up my pace tomorrow.?

TIMES: Spies (Yamaha) 1m58.8s; 2. Rea (Honda) 1m59.1s; 3. Checa (Honda) 1m59.7s; 4. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1m59.8s; 5. Kiyonari (Honda) 1m59.9s; 6. Byrne (Ducati) 1m59.9s; 7. Smrz (Ducati) 2m00.0s; 8. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 2m00.1s?? 11. Haga (Ducati Xerox) 2m00.2s

 

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SBK: FIRST ROUND OF OFFICIAL TRIALS AT LOSAIL

It?s back to the track in Qatar for the second round of the SBK 2009 season. Unlike the other GP cousins, the production-derived bikes will race on the Losail circuit by day. In fact, the races will be held on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. local time (Qatar is two hours ahead of Central Europe). The track, which is covered in dust and sand, created some difficulties for the drivers, especially during the free practice, but later the grip gradually improved resulting in more interesting race times. During the first round of the official trials, Ben Spies achieved the best time with 1:58:886 on his Yamaha Factory.
Max Biaggi held on to fourth position with a time of 1:59:826, just 0:940 behind the American driver. The Roman put a great deal of effort into collecting as much data as possible about this completely new track for the RSV4, concentrating mainly on the suspension.
Instead, Nakano came in tenth, stopping the clock at 2:00:238, finishing 1:352 behind Spies. Shinya is continuing his apprenticeship in this new category with his RSV4.

"These practices were not easy,? declared Biaggi. ?We started off without any data or parameters from previous years with which to work and this put us at a disadvantage with respect to the others since we debuted in this category with the RSV4. There was some improvement in the official afternoon trials and the bike became more manageable, but we?re still losing a few tenths of a second per lap with respect to the others because we?re missing stability, especially in the fast curves. Now, with help from the technicians, we?re trying to find some solutions to become more efficient, but there?s not much time to work with and so we?re mostly concentrating on the suspension.?

?It?s not easy to arrange the work we have to do here because we don?t have any data to analyse,? said Nakano, ?but it didn?t go too badly today, in any case. Compared to Phillip Island, we managed to resolve a few problems. We have less chattering and this has allowed me to concentrate more on my driving. The track was quite slippery this morning, but the grip improved during the afternoon and we were able to work much better on the suspension. The engine is fine but the erogation is still far too aggressive.?

 

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WSBK'09 Round 2 | Losail, day 1

Team Sterilgarda has reached its objective for day 1 of qualifying in Doha, Qatar. Shakey Byrne finished sixth at only two tenths of a second from Carlos Checa who took third place. It is a morale-boosting result for tomorrow's second qualifying session where both team and rider are confident they can do much better hoping for a less unlucky Superpole.

SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 6th in 1'59.980: "I like the track. I'm still working on bike setup though, but I'm almost done. I've made some small mistakes today that on this track affects time on the next two or three corners as well. I gave it my all at the end of the session and had a good series of fast laps but I know I can do better. I hope to do just that tomorrow in the Superpole, I like the new formula although I'm not a one lap shootout kind of rider. I prefer building up my time lap after lap".

MARCO BORCIANI - team manager: "We've had the proof of what the real gap between the riders really is, if there is one. This time the other riders didn't have any advantage as they didn't do any testing in Doha as opposed to Phillip Island. Shane felt comfortable on this track where he had replaced Troy Bayliss for team Camel Ducati in 2005. We've set the best time among the Ducatis and we're really close to the first row. The only one who seems to be faster than everyone is Spies, but I'm positive that both tomorrow and in race day we'll be fighting for top position".

TV Schedule

Eurosport 2

Friday 13 12:00 (UK Time) Superpole live
Saturday 14 08:30 (UK Time) both RACE 1 and RACE 2 live

Results - day 1:

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'58.886
2 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.177
3 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.731
4 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'59.826
5 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.937
6 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'59.980
7 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 2'00.024
8 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2'00.101
9 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 2'00.232
10 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 2'00.238
11 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 2'00.254
12 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 2'00.283
13 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.345
14 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.374
15 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.398

 

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First day of qualifying for Superbike squad

Thursday 12th of March 2009

Boosted with confidence after their succesful performance at the opening round in Australia, the Stiggy Racing Honda Superbike squad made their first laps on the Losail Circuit in Doha, Qatar this morning.

With no prior information on the behaviour all-new Stiggy Racing CBR1000RR at the Losail track, gathering vital data for the bike's set up was the team's main focus throughout the first day of qualifying. Roberto Rolfo managed to secure a provisional place amongst the 15 fastest rider but technical issues prevented Leon Haslam from improving on his lap times, placing him on a provisional 18th place ahead of tomorrow's second day of qualifying.


Roberto Rolfo, 2'00.374,14th;
"In this track it is very important to be fast in every corner to set a good lap time. We managed to improve a lot through the sessions but unfortunately we had some problems with the bike towards the end. I set my best lap ten minutes before the end of the session but had to stay inside while many riders were out to set theirs. I couldn't get"


Leon Haslam, 2'00.799,19th;
"I had a few issues today which held me back a little. We managed to make some good progress with the suspension. Hopefully tomorrow we can put the time and laps in and qualify well and continue the progression that we made today." "back on track in time to improve upon my best lap time."

Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager;
"We started off well in our first qualifying session here on the Losail track considering we have never been here before. Unfortunately we are still facing some technical issues, specially with Leon's bike, but I am confident we can get the package competitive. The team will continue to work on solving these issues before the second qualifying session so I am confident we can get our package competitive and improve the results tomorrow.

First day of Losail Supersport qualifying

Thursday 12th of March 2009

The second overseas round in Qatar started this morning with the Supersport Free Practice session. The last one before cost-cutting changes in the event schedule come into force in Valencia, reducing the first day of Supersport practice and qualifying to just one 45-minute session.

Dirt on the track saw both Stiggy riders playing it safe in the morning?s first Free Practice session in which they concentrated on finding the right set up for their bikes after the Phillip Island round. West managed to improve his best time set in the morning practice later today in the First Qualifying session, but is still looking for improvement in order to find the connection with the front runners.

Anthony West, 2?03.253, 9th position;
?I was struggling with the set up of this bike this morning. We started with the setting we used in Phillip Island but we just didn?t manage to find the grip on this track.
We made some changes to improve the bike and in the end they started to work. We have been able to run at a consistent pace. I just have to find the right pace for tomorrow?s session and try and qualify up front.?

Gianluca Vizziello, 2?04.326, 18th position;
?I?m not satisfied with my position at the moment. We have been struggling with the set up of the bike. We have to change a few things for tomorrow?s qualifying for instance with the cornering. The track was not too dirty at the moment, hopefully it stays like that and we can improve our position in tomorrow?s session.?

Johan Stigefelt (Team Manager);
?We made some good progress throughout the day, especially with Anthony who is not too far off the pace of the top group. We still have some things to improve, but If he manages to stay within half of a second of the top riders I am convinced he will be there in the race. With Vizziello we have to work a bit harder and make some changes to the set up to improve his feeling with the bike.?

 

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Second row for Checa after frustrating day in the desert

Carlos Checa will start tomorrow’s second round 2009 World Superbike races in Qatar from the second row of the grid after setting the seventh fastest time in today’s final Superpole session at the Losail circuit.

The Spanish rider has been near the top of the timing sheets for most of the first two days at the 5.38km circuit, but his Ten Kate Honda team-mates, Jonathan Rea and Ryuichi Kiyonari, were unable to convert qualifying speed into grid positions in the new format Superpole.

Second fastest after regulation qualifying, Rea went out in the first Superpole session on soft race rubber, on which he was unable to match his earlier times, resulting in the 22-year-old being eliminated. Kiyonari meanwhile, who has been running top five for the first two days of the meeting, crashed in the second Superpole session, ending up 12th fastest.

Carlos Checa – P7, 1’59.090
The final Superpole session with the last eight riders was not so good. We made some small changes to the bike and I made some mistakes, so, instead of a high 1’57s lap which I was aiming for, we ended up with a low ’59. However, for tomorrow’s races I’m confident in the package we have been working with. We’ll hope that the tyres are working and giving the same feeling as we’ve had today. If that’s the case, then I’m confident of two good races.

Ryuichi Kiyonari – P12, 1’59.055s
The lap times are very good on the race tyre and we’ve tried many different settings today, so I’m happy with what we have for the races. In the second Superpole session, I went as soon as pit-lane opened but pushed a little too hard as I tried to make a gap on someone behind me. So, I start again on the third row and, as long as I get a good start and a solid first lap, I’m confident of some good results.

Jonathan Rea – P17, 1’59.177s
I’ve been running near the top for the last two days, so I used a soft race tyre in the first Superpole session – one that I’d done a fast time on in the free practice just before. Unfortunately, it didn’t work and although we thought we’d be safe, as it turned out, we weren’t. It’s going to be very hard from the fifth row tomorrow, but I’m really confident in the package the we’ve got and in my ability to do the lap times. Whereas I was a bit nervous on the front row in Australia, I’m quite pumped for tomorrow and I’ll do my best to make it happen. There might be some fireworks on the first couple of laps, so stay tuned!

Ronald ten Kate – team manager
The Superpole results just do not reflect the solid work and good performances that we’ve been putting in so far. In the majority of sessions, we’ve had all three riders fully up at the front. Anyway, we have to get on with two tough and challenging races tomorrow, especially Johnny who must come from a long way down the grid. I’m still confident we can deliver some good results though.

Results – 2009 World Superbike championship, Losail, Qatar
Round two, final qualifying results:
1. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 1’57.280s
2. Jakub Smrz (CZE) 1’57.384s
3. Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 1’57.694s
4. Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati 1’57.850s
7. Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’59.090s
12. Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing 1’59.055s
17. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’59.177s

Front row starts for Ten Kate duo

Kenan Sofuoglu and Andrew Pitt will both start from the front row for tomorrow’s second round 2009 World Supersport championship race at the Losail circuit in Qatar. Pole position was taken by British rider, Cal Crutchlow, from another Honda rider, Eugene Laverty.

The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda riders set the third and fourth fastest times respectively in this afternoon’s 45-minute second qualifying session at the 5.38km circuit near Qatar’s capital, Doha.

Reigning World Supersport champion, Pitt, has been concentrating on fine tuning the set-up of his Honda CBR600RR, meanwhile, despite a crash in both free practice this morning and during the latter stages of qualifying, his team-mate, Sofuoglu, remains confident of challenging for a podium place during tomorrow’s 18-lap race.

Kenan Sofuoglu – P3, 2’01.810s
On the way into turn four this afternoon, I had a slide and a very big highside. The bike hit me after, so it is quite painful. Apart from this problem, I am very happy with the bike and the way my crew has been working so hard. We have very good race pace and I am starting from the front row, which is so important. I will be going out to win tomorrow, or to finish on the podium at least.

Andrew Pitt – P4, 2’02.266s
I’m happy enough with the front row because race day is normally when we pull it all together. We’ve still got a few small improvements to look for to make it easier to do the lap times, but all in all I’m happy with today. I was ready to go for a faster lap towards the end but there were a few slower riders waiting for me and, by the time I’d shaken them, the clock was gone.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager
We’re very happy to have both riders on the front row, which is always our main objective in qualifying. Kenan had quite a big crash trying to grab pole position but luckily there are no major injuries. The lap-by-lap times suggest a very tight battle in tomorrow’s race but, if we can resolve some small issues, we’re confident of fighting for two podium finishes.

2009 World Supersport championship, round two – Losail, Qatar
Final qualifying results:
1. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha 2’01.586s
2. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Honda 2’01.629s
3. Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 2’01.810s
4. Andrew Pitt (AUS) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 2’02.266s

 

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Yamaha rookie Ben Spies takes incredible second consecutive Superpole in Qatar

The second day of qualifying for round two of the 2009 Superbike World Championship again saw the new Yamaha YZF-R1 set the pace in qualifying and Superpole. Topping the rankings already in the morning session, Ben Spies took his second ever World Superbike Superpole later today with a flawless run and a time of 1"57.280, improving the Losail WSB lap record by almost 0.8 seconds. This adds to his pace-setting achievement at Phillip Island two weeks ago. Team-mate Tom Sykes proved he had the speed as well to run with the front pack today, fighting down to the final eight Superpole session and setting a 5th time of 1"57.878 which puts him on the second row of the grid when the lights go out tomorrow.

Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team
"it's been a good day again today, the most important thing is being on the front row with this many fast guys. The Qualifiers were definitely quicker than I thought they were going to be and we made it through with a good time at the end. The race pace is looking really promising although I know it's going to be a really hard race tomorrow as everybody's riding really fast and catching up so it's going to be good!"

Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team
"To be honest I was reasonably happy with the qualifying, I certainly felt like I could have been on the front row but made a small mistake so dropped to the second. I'm happy on the race tires and I think both myself and Ben have a consistent race pace so if we can get away cleanly tomorrow I think it'll show at the end of the race. Other than that I'm happier with where we're starting compared to Phillip Island and really looking forward to getting off the line quickly and racing with the front pack tomorrow."

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"we had another good day today, we found a race tire we're happy with and the pace of both riders is very good. I'm confident we are ready for tomorrow although we will do more adjustments and possibly try a few things tomorrow morning to see if we can find an even better set-up before the first race. My compliments to Ben for achieving his second Superpole in a row and it's great that Tom has moved up to start on the second row as well."

WSB Qatar - Qualifying 2 results

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'58.886
2 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.177
3 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'59.499
4 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'59.632
5 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.731
6 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'59.755
7 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'59.812
8 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'59.821
9 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.937
10 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.954
11 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'00.012
12 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.117
13 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 2'00.193
14 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 2'00.238
15 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 2'00.254
16 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.264
17 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.345
18 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.374
19 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.390
20 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 2'00.480
21 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.738
22 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'00.839
23 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.047
24 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 2'01.165
25 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.560
26 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.561
27 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.607
28 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'02.663


WSB Qatar - Superpole results

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'57.280
2 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'57.384
3 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'57.694
4 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'57.850
5 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'57.878
6 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 1'58.755
7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.090
8 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 2'00.021
9 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'58.734
10 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'58.919
11 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'59.044
12 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.055
13 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'59.074
14 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'59.134
15 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.435
16 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.454
17 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.713
18 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.882
19 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'59.926
20 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.108
21 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.738
22 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'00.839
23 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.047
24 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 2'01.165
25 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.560
26 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.561
27 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.607
28 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'02.663

QUALIFYING 2 REPORT 13/03/2009
Crutchlow takes first Yamaha World Supersport pole position of 2009

World Supersport rookie Cal Crutchlow took the first Yamaha pole position of the 2009 World Supersport Championship today with an impressive time of 2"01.586. Crutchlow proved to be consistently fast, continuing from yesterday's qualifying session where he again led the field. Crutchlow's team-mate Fabien Foret, still recovering from a shoulder injury sustained at the previous round in Phillip Island, also put in an impressive performance with a 5th best qualifying time of 2"02.282 and starts on the second row of the grid for tomorrow's race.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team
"it was good today, I'm happy enough. I think if we can continue that pace for tomorrow we'll be pleased. It's going to be a really close race though and there's no massive advantage, everybody is still close behind. I think there's going to be six or seven of us fighting for the front pack positions. It's really exciting again for me to race my first race round Losail setting off from pole position, which is a great boost although only a small advantage!"

Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team
"I'm not very happy with my day, we tried some different scenarios and tried some different set-ups and they did not improve very much. My shoulder is much better today though so that's good! Tomorrow the race day will be different, I feel confident to fight for the podium with the rest of the faster guys so we will see."

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager
"We are pleased with what we have done today, not only lap-time wise but also result-wise and feeling-wise with the riders. Cal is very happy with the package, his race tire choices are sorted and we feel we are ready for it. It's his first pole so it's important for him to have a good start and set the pace directly. For Fabien the day was slightly less satisfying, he improved over half a second, but then struggled a little bit in the last qualifying session when he changed the front tire which was not so good. He did find the pace again and kept up but unfortunately he ran into back markers so it slowed him down. He is generally happy with the end of the practice and overall we know what to do tomorrow morning before we start racing."

WSS Qatar - Qualifying 2 results

1 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 2'01.586
2 50 Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 2'01.629
3 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 2'01.810
4 1 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 2'02.266
5 99 Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 2'02.282
6 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 2'02.450
7 69 Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 2'02.497
8 127 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 2'02.592
9 24 McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 2'02.634
10 8 Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 2'02.656
11 51 Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 2'02.664
12 13 West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 2'02.808
13 21 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2'02.844
14 117 Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 2'03.098
15 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2'03.111
16 19 Szkopek P. (POL) Triumph Daytona 675 2'03.163
17 55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 2'03.178
18 77 Veneman B. (NED) Suzuki GSX-R600 2'03.215
19 105 Vizziello G. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 2'03.507
20 30 G?nther J. (GER) Honda CBR600RR 2'03.703
21 9 Dell'Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 2'03.829
22 7 Vost?rek P. (CZE) Honda CBR600RR 2'03.942
23 28 Vos A. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 2'03.951
24 83 Holland R. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 2'04.333
25 96 Smrz M. (CZE) Triumph Daytona 675 2'04.504
26 71 Morillas J. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 2'04.710
27 32 Lai F. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 2'04.988
28 5 Pradita T. (INA) Yamaha YZF R6 2'05.234
29 88 Guerra Y. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 2'05.565

 

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NORIYUKI HAGA (DUCATI XEROX) AND THE DUCATI 1198 TO START FROM THE FRONT ROW TOMORROW AT LOSAIL

Losail (Qatar), Friday 13th March: After another challenging day on track at the International Circuit of Losail in Qatar, the Ducati Xerox rider Noriyuki Haga earned a well-deserved place on the front row of tomorrow?s grid, concluding a closely fought Superpole with the fourth fastest time of the day on board his factory Ducati 1198. Yamaha?s Ben Spies dominated today?s sessions to take the Superpole, closely followed by Smrz on Team Guandalini?s Ducati 1098 and by Biaggi (Aprilia) who has done well at this track in the past.

Noriyuki?s Italian team-mate Michel Fabrizio will line up in tenth position on the grid after having made a small mistake during what needed to be his fastest lap in the second Superpole session.

Both Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki and Michel continued to struggle throughout today?s sessions with major problems due to lack of rear grip. Nevertheless, in the second qualifying session this morning, Michel was able to improve slightly on the time he set yesterday to qualify in seventh place for the afternoon?s Superpole. Team-mate Noriyuki fought a losing battle during the morning and concluded the qualifying sessions in fifteenth position, making up for this however in the Superpole that followed.

Noriyuki Haga 1m57.8s
?I am very happy to be on the front row of the grid tomorrow, a big improvement on my grid position in Phillip Island! We have had some problems today and yesterday with the rear grip but we think that we have found a way forward for tomorrow?s races. Tomorrow will be tough, not just for me but for all of us, and so to be able start from the front row will of course be an advantage.?

Michel Fabrizio 1m58.9s
?I unfortunately made a small error while making the fast lap in the second Superpole session. At the penultimate corner I was in the wrong gear, I should have been in second when I was instead in third and I know I lost a few tenths during that split as a result. Although I had time to make one further lap the tyre was already gone. I had at least hoped to get into the top eight but it was that mistake that cost me a place further forward on the grid. Anyway I will do my best tomorrow, as always, and hope that is enough.?

TIMES (Superpole): 1. Spies (Yamaha) 1m57.2s; 2. Smrz (Ducati) 1m57.3s; 3. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1m57.6s; 4. Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1m57.8s; 5. Sykes (Yamaha) 1m57.8s; 6. Nakano (Aprilia) 1m58.7s; 7. Checa (Honda) 1m59.0s; 8. Byrne (Ducati) 2m00.0s?. 10. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m58.9s

 

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WSBK Doha, Qatar, final qualifying

Superbike

Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser were two of many riders who suffered in the new Superpole system and so will start tomorrow?s pair of 18-lap races from the fourth row of the grid. Once again Troy had performed superbly in regular qualifying and had finished 8th in the first session and tenth in the second. He then followed that up with the fourth fastest lap in Superpole 1, but that lap time was wiped away for the 16 riders who lined up for Superpole 2. He used the same type of qualifier for Superpole 2, but the tyre didn?t work as well, causing the front end of the bike to chatter. This problem was enough to prevent Troy from getting into Superpole 3 and a possible place on the second row of the grid. Ruben improved his lap times by over three seconds from first practice and was happy to qualify for Superpole 1. He managed to get into Superpole 2, but no further. As a result he will line up on the fourth row of the grid with Troy alongside. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) won Superpole, with Jakob Smrz (Ducati) second, Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third and series leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) fourth.

Ruben - 15th, 1:59.435
Of course, it is disappointing to be on the fourth row of the grid, but I?m happy because I have improved my lap times so much since my first session here. It?s not so easy developing a bike during the race weekend, but it?s just something that we have to get used to doing and trying to do it as well as we can. The more we push the bike towards its limit, the more we find out things and the more we have to work out how to improve those things.
In the afternoon, I had a lot chatter and couldn?t push any harder, but I know that my lap time on race tyres is quite good. It?s a shame that our first two races are so far from our workshops because I?m sure we could have solved some of the problems more quickly if we?d been able to do the work. But we cannot stop time, we just have to keep working hard. I know I am in the best team in the paddock and that gives me a lot of power. I want to be up the front - sooner rather than later - and I know it?s going to take some time, but I am confident that we are going to get there, before too long.

Troy - 16th, 1:59.954
I?m not a fan of this new Superpole system and I think it must be quite hard for the fans to follow and understand. My lap in Superpole 1 would?ve put me on row three for sure and maybe row two, if luck had gone our way. In Superpole 1, I used a qualifying tyre for the first time this year and did a 1:58.950 quite easily. But for Superpole 2, that time gets wiped clean and you start all over again. We used the same tyre on the same bike for Superpole 2, but suddenly the bike was chattering and that made it impossible to go any quicker. It?s a bit frustrating when that happens and now I know I have got a very hard job ahead. My bike is not so fast at the top end as most of my rivals, so it means that I am going to have to work harder in the turns trying to stay with them. This track has a long front straight and then a series of corners, so it is very easy to get held up and then not be able catch the front group. My plan is to get two good starts and see what happens in the race.

Results
1 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:57.280, 2 Smrz (CZ-Ducati) 1:57.384, 3 Biaggi (I-Aprilia) 1:57.694, 4 Haga (J-Ducati) 1:57.850, 5 Sykes (GB-Yamaha) 1:57.878, 6 Nakano (J-Aprilia) 1:58.755, 7 Checa (E-Honda) 1:59.090, 8 Byrne (GB-Ducati) 2:00.021, 9 Rolfo (I-Honda) 1:58.734, 10 Fabrizio (I-Ducati) 1:58.919, 15 Ruben Xaus (E-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:59.435, 16 Troy Corser (Aus-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:59.454

 

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WSBK'09 Round 2 | Losail, day 2

Shane Shakey Byrne will start from row 2 in tomorrow's two races taking place on the Doha circuit, after setting the eighth time at the end of the Superpole. The British rider continued working on the bike and was among the fastest in race set-up. In the Superpole knock-out Byrne confirmed the second provisional row reached during the second qualifying session accumulating experience with the qualifying tyres and the all-new Superpole formula which defined the starting grid.

SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 8th in 2'00.021: "We're all set for the race, I just have to practice with the start regulations, but most of the work has already been done and I'm confident I can fight for the top positions. I didn't perform at my best in the Superpole, both because I'm not accustomed to this formula and because I'm not really comfortable with the qualyifing tyres which I had tested only in Portimao. I'm sure tomorrow's races will be hard-fought as usual. Nevertheless, I'm confident I can get in the leading pack from the beginning."

MARCO BORCIANI - team manager: "Shane has done a great job and has proven he can fight for the top with almost anyone, except Spies. We are really confident and hope to finish in the top 5. It would be a dream come true to repeat last year's performance, when both Biaggi and Xaus earned podium finishes".

Superpole

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'57.280
2 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'57.384
3 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'57.694
4 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'57.850
5 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'57.878
6 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 1'58.755
7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.090
8 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 2'00.021
9 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'58.734
10 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'58.919
11 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'59.044
12 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.055
13 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'59.074
14 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'59.134
15 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.435

TV Schedule

Eurosport 2

Saturday 14 08:30 (UK Time) both RACE 1 and RACE 2 live

 

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Rolfo on 9th place, Haslam out in Superpole

Friday 13th of March 2009

After a difficult first day of qualifying overshadowed by technical issues, finding the right set up to use the full potential of the new Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR still proved to be a tough exercise on the Losail track today.

Leon Haslam used most of his track time today trying to resolve the issues he endured in yesterday?s qualifying. Though results were improving and he managed to find a consistent pace using race tires, his Superpole session was once again plagued by technical issues. Haslam never left the box on a qualifier and didn?t get the change to set a fast lap and was prematurely wiped out of the first Superpole. Haslam will start tomorrow?s race from no higher than the 5th row on a disappointing 18th position but remains positive improvements will be made tomorrow.

Roberto Rolfo improved throughout the day?s qualifying and practice sessions and managed to set the fourth fastest time in the ultimate lap of the first Superpole. A successive fast lap in the second Superpole looked promising before he tumbled down the timesheet when first Haga and then Byrne moved up in the last remaining seconds of the session and pushed Rolfo out of the third Superpole. He will start tomorrow?s race from the third row on 9th place.

Roberto Rolfo, P9, 1?58.734s;
?I am happy with my Superpole qualifying and my grid position for tomorrow?s race. I had a really good feeling with my bike today. We made some great progress throughout the day and worked on the race simulation, we still have to improve as it still proves difficult to keep the pace consistent. The bike and the team are still improving and I?m happy with the direction we?re heading. The bike has great potential, we just have to understand how to use it.?

Leon Haslam, P18, 1?59.882s;
?We seem to be plagued by technical issues and have only done around fifteen flying laps in total over the whole weekend. Despite the issues we set out on a race tyre and made a gamble to save the qualifiers for the ending but missed out on that. But that?s the way it goes in the new Superpole qualifying. Tomorrow is a different story, there is a few areas we still not to improve, but I am looking forward to tomorrow?s race.?

Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager;
?We finally managed to run a complete session with Leon in the free practice and the race pace has shown to be very good. We are not so far off the pace of the guys up front. If we can try a few more things tomorrow I am confident we can improve. Roberto did a very good job in the Superpole and managed to place himself on a good position for tomorrow?s race. Unfortunately, Leon still had some problems with his engine and was left out after the first Superpole. If he had been able to ride the second one and use qualifiers we would have been able to set a better result and move further forward.?

 

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Kiyonari just misses Qatar podium
<a href="http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=09qatsbkraceweb.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4070/09qatsbkraceweb.th.jpg" border="0"/></a>

Ryuichi Kiyonari of the Ten Kate Honda Racing team missed a podium finish by 0.2s in the second of today’s two second round 2009 World Superbike championship races at Losail in Qatar. Both 18-lappers were won by American Ben Spies, with Noriyuki Haga claiming two second places and Max Biaggi two thirds.

Kiyonari’s fourth followed an eighth place finish in race one as his Honda team-mates, Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea, both claimed a handful of points to put a frustrating weekend behind them.

In race one, Checa took fifth after starting from seventh on the grid, but could do no better than 13th in the second outing after suffering chatter problems in both races.

Jonathan Rea, meanwhile, having been near the top of the timing sheets during practice and regular qualifying, struggled with his grid position of 17th following yesterday’s difficult Superpole event. The 22-year-old battled throughout both of today’s encounters, taking 12th in race one and eighth in race two.

Ryuichi Kiyonari – race one 8th, race two 4th
In race one I had a very bad start and had to push hard at the beginning. After that it was difficult to keep the lap times. We changed the tyre for race two and things felt much better, but, again, I had to push very hard and was maybe a bit too aggressive with the throttle at the beginning, trying to catch the leading group. When I reached Biaggi, I didn’t have enough left to get past him. I hoped he might make a mistake to let me on to the podium, which would have been the best reward for my team who have worked so hard. But it didn’t happen, so I had to accept fourth place.

Carlos Checa – race one 5th, race two 13th
I had quite bad chatter again in race one. We thought we had eliminated this problem after Phillip Island, but it was back and gave me quite bad arm pump. Unfortunately, it was even worse in race two and I also had a bad start which meant I had to try to pass many other riders. With the problems we had, I didn’t really have the confidence to push as hard as I wanted. We’ll work on everything before we get to Valencia and hope for better things there.

Jonathan Rea – race one 12th, race two 8th
Today has been one of mixed emotions – in fact, it’s been quite a weird weekend. We were right up there on Friday and Saturday morning, but went the wrong way and Superpole was not good. So, we went back to Friday’s settings for the races today and I got a pretty good start in the first one, but got bad arm pump. The guys in the Clinica Mobile sorted it out for race two and everything felt much better; but from 17th on the grid, I couldn’t quite catch the leading group so I had quite a lonely race. I had one or two moments with the front, but I’m happy with the way I rode and I’m looking forward to Valencia now.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager
Obviously we have not had the results that we were looking for or that the hard work of the team deserved. Jonathan rode well in the second race and showed that he’s starting to find better race-craft, being new to the class. The highlight of the day was Kiyo’s ride in race two. A podium finish would have been a nice reward for everyone but it wasn’t to be. We will work hard between now and Valencia to get better results there.

2009 World Superbike championship, round two – Losail, Qatar
Results (5.38km, 18 laps)
Race one: 1 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 36’06.304s, 2 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati +1.893s, 3 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia +2.168, 4 Shinya Nakano (JPN) Aprilia +12.061, 5 Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +12.597, 8 Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing +19.306, 12 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +21.994.
Race two: 1 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 36’02.126s, 2 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati +1.274s, 3 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia +1.622, 4 Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing +1.845, 8 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +12.621, 13 Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +15.762.

Championship standings after two of 14 rounds: 1 Haga 85, 2 Spies 75, 3 Max Neukirchner (GER) Suzuki 40, 4 Biaggi 38, 5 Leon Haslam (GBR) Honda 36, 6 Tom Sykes (GBR) Yamaha 32, 8 Rea 30, 13 Kiyonari 21, 14 Checa 21.

Next round: 5 April – Valencia, Spain

Pitt second in Qatari thriller

Andrew Pitt finished second in today’s second round 2009 World Supersport championship encounter in Qatar. The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider was edged off the top step of the podium by Honda-mounted Eugene Laverty. Cal Crutchlow completed the podium, with Pitt’s team-mate, Kenan Sofuoglu – winner of the opening race in Australia two weeks ago – finishing in fourth place.

In a classic Supersport slipstreaming battle around the 5.38km Losail circuit just outside Doha, Pitt and Sofuoglu traded places with Laverty and Crutchlow, with each of three Honda riders taking spells leading the race.

On the last lap, Pitt appeared to have timed his final move to the front perfectly, but Laverty, riding the 2009 Honda CBR600RR, was able to out-drag the Australian to the flag, while a mistake at the final corner prevented Sofuoglu from joining Pitt on the podium.

Andrew Pitt – P2
I gave everything I had during the race and, although I didn’t win, at least we’ve bagged another 20 points. We struggled early in the weekend but the team has worked really hard again to put a good bike underneath me. Congratulations to Eugene and the Parkalgar Honda team – they were knocking on the door last season and deserve to be there. Bring on Valencia, when we’ll have the 2009 CBR to play with and the straight is a little shorter!

Kenan Sofuoglu – P4
I’m not so happy, really. After my two crashes yesterday I was a little bit nervous and then I was losing some speed on the straight to everyone else. I had to try and make up for that by braking late into the corners and that made me a little tired and I began to feel the knocks I received yesterday. Then I made a mistake going into the final corner, when I was third, and this allowed Crutchlow through. Still, I have some more points and it’s not such a bad result considering the tough weekend we’ve had.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager
It’s not been the easiest weekend, so I was pleased to see both riders fighting for the win right through the race. Although we would love to have won, the victory went to the 2009 CBR600RR and to another well-respected Honda team, so congratulations to them. At the end of the day, we’re still 1-2 in the championship and we’re looking forward to getting back to Europe where our own 09 bikes are waiting and we cannot wait for Valencia.

2009 World Supersport championship, round two – Losail, Qatar
Results (5.38km – 18 laps)
1 Eugene Laverty (IRL) Honda 37’06.285s
2 Andrew Pitt (AUS) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +0.063s
3 Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha +0.625s
4 Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +0.711s
5 Robbin Harms (DEN) Honda +5.200s
6 Matthieu Lagrive (FRA) Honda +5.233s

Championship points after two of 14 rounds:
Pitt 40, Sofuoglu 38, Laverty 36, Crutchlow 29, Anthony West (AUS) Honda 23, Lagrive 15.

Next round: 5 April – Valencia, Spain

 

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NORIYUKI HAGA (DUCATI XEROX) AND HIS 1198 BACK ON THE PODIUM TWICE TODAY IN QATAR

Losail (Qatar), Saturday 14th March: in the second round of the 2009 World Superbike Championship, taking place today at the International Circuit of Losail in Qatar, Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) returned to the podium after powering his 1198 to a second place finish in both of this afternoon?s races.

In Race 1 Noriyuki made a great start and was up in second place behind Aprilia?s Max Biaggi for the first twelve laps before both riders were passed by American Ben Spies on the Yamaha who held the lead to take the win. Noriyuki and Max spent the last few laps battling for second and it was the Ducati Xerox rider who kept the pace to ride his 1198 to a second place finish, taking important championship points in the process. Unfortunately Michel Fabrizio had less success and after making up several places, from fourteenth to seventh, in the first seven laps, a technical problem meant that he had to deactivate the bike?s anti-spin, without which he suffered a fall.

In Race 2 it was once again Noriyuki, Max and Ben who fought for the lead, with Ben ultimately winning and proving that he had the stronger package on track today. Noriyuki was determined to repeat his first race performance and finished once again ahead of Biaggi, replicating the podium of Race 1. Michel did not make the best start and was down in seventeenth place in the first lap. He tried to catch up as he did in the first race but the lack of rear grip forced him to stop in the garage where the rear tyre was changed. Michel exited once again and registered his fastest lap of the race but concluded his race early due to the two lap gap that had built up during his pit-stop.

Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 ? 2nd; Race 2 ? 2nd)
?I am very happy with today?s results because we maintain the championship lead. Race 1 was a hard race for me, and I had to really fight hard with Ben (Spies) and Max (Biaggi). In the first laps I was holding the pace with Max no problem but then I started to have rear tyre problems and it became harder to keep up. Ben passed us both and there was no way either of use could catch him; I enjoyed racing with Max but the closing laps were hard. Race 2 was almost the same, another race against Max. I held the lead for the first five laps with Max behind but then, as before, Ben took control and got away from us both. Anyway, good results and good points for us and thanks to my team for putting together a great bike after some initial difficulties on Thursday.?

Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 ? DNF; Race 2 - DNF)
?Today is a day to forget; we must move on. In Race 1 I had a technical problem with the anti-spin so I deactivated it but riding without that electronic support was hard and caused me to fall. In the second race I decided to come into the box after eight laps to change the rear tyre that had caused me problems from the first lap. The tyre was changed and I went back out but the gap that had opened up prevented me from fighting for points and so I concluded my race early.?

RACE 1: 1. Spies (Yamaha); 2. Haga (Ducati Xerox) 3. Biaggi (Aprilia); 4. Nakano (Aprilia), 5. Checa (Honda); 6. Byrne (Ducati); 7. Sykes (Yamaha); 8. Kiyonari (Honda)

RACE 2: 1. Spies (Yamaha); 2. Haga (Ducati Xerox) 3. Biaggi (Aprilia); 4. Kiyonari (Honda); 5. Sykes (Yamaha); 6. Neukirchner (Suzuki); 7. Nakano (Aprilia) 8. Rea (Honda)

POINTS (after 2 of 14 rounds): Riders ? 1. Haga (Ducati Xerox) 85; 2. Spies (Yamaha) 75; 3. Neukirchner (Suzuki) 40; 4. Biaggi (Aprilia) 38; 5. Haslam (Honda) 36; 6. Sykes (Yamaha) 32?. 11. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 24. Manufacturers - Ducati 85; Yamaha 81; Honda 51; Aprilia 41; Suzuki 40; BWM 27; Kawasaki 2

 

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Spies cleans up with sensational double win in Qatar

Yamaha rider Ben Spies lived up to the hype again in Qatar today, riding an incredible two races to take his second and third consecutive victories in the Losail heat. Dropping to fifth from the start of the first race, the three-time AMA champion moved up to third position on lap four to tuck in behind race leader Max Biaggi and second placed rider Noriyuki Haga for most of the race. The super calm Texan waited for his moment six laps from the end to make his move. As Haga moved out to look up the inside of Biaggi, Spies took the opportunity and passed him on the inside, before taking Biaggi on the next corner as the Italian race leader ran wide. From the moment he took the lead Spies win was never in doubt as he cleanly pulled away from the battle for second. Spies' team-mate Tom Sykes had a frustrating start, dropping several places up to ninth position before fighting his way back through to finish seventh.

Race two saw Spies dominate again, after initially dropping a couple of places from the start line, he moved up behind Haga and Biaggi again before moving out to take the lead on lap seven. The American superstar then put in a sensational performance of perfect laps, increasing the comfort zone until taking the chequered flag in style, comfortably ahead of second place Haga. Spies leaves Qatar in second place in the standings, ten points behind Haga in the championship. Spies also takes the new lap record for the Qatar circuit away with him this weekend.

Tom Sykes got a better start to race two and fought with Yukio Kiyonari and Troy Corser in the opening laps for fifth position. Fighting behind the leading pack Sykes held his own with an impressive race pace, putting in consistent laps to finish the race in fifth position.


Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team
"It was an extremely tough first race, I got an ok start and got to the back of Nori and Max after a few laps. All three of us were strong in different parts of the track so it was really interesting. It was very hard to pass them both, It was when Nori was looking up the inside of Max, that I had my chance to get inside of him, and then Max ran a bit wide so I got through. Once I got it done I got my head down and kept it clean, it was good enough to win.

In the second race Nori set a really good pace first for a few laps so I just tried to keep the same rhythm. Eventually I managed to get past and just kept my head down and tried to open up a gap. It was a hard race, but a better race for me than first one as I could concentrate on riding my lines. Hopefully when we go to Valencia we'll be up there fighting at the front again! A good weekend for the team, they're not always like that but we'll take them when they come."


Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team
"I was very disappointed with race one, I didn't get the best of starts but it was turns one and two that really let me down so I played a lot of catch up and needed to make it happen. In race two we changed a couple of things on the bike and got a decent start. I tried not to get into trouble in the first two corners and got a couple of people in front of me who I didn't want there so put my head down and eventually took them. We got a nice gap behind us and so I was looking ahead and trying to work onto a podium position. At one stage I thought we were there but struggled in a couple of places and had to override the tire so lost a bit of pace. The team has been great, we're taking it step by step so hopefully we'll be on the podium in Valencia!"

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"The weekend went really well for us, both races were fantastic for Ben and Tom also did a very good job. We are improving and getting closer to the championship lead. Thanks to everyone as what we've done is the result of a really great team; here, the riders, Japan, everyone is working very well together so a big thank you for everybody."

Circuit Length: 5380
Weather: Hot
Lap Record:: 2' 0.061 (Noriyuki Haga, 01/01/2006)
Fastest Lap Ever:: 1' 57.280 (Ben Spies, 14/03/2009)
Last Years Winner:: Shuhei Aoyama
2009 WSB Qatar - Doha/Losail 14/03/2009
Race 1
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 36'6.304
2 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'1.893
3 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0'2.168
4 Shinya Nakano Aprilia JPN 0'12.061
5 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0'12.597
6 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'12.971
7 Tom Sykes Yamaha GBR 0'13.570
8 Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 0'19.306
9 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'19.388
10 Regis Laconi Ducati FRA 0'20.981
11 Leon Haslam Honda GBR 0'21.164
12 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0'21.994
13 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 0'22.917
14 Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 0'27.218
15 Tommy Hill Honda GBR 0'31.602


Race 2
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 36'2.126
2 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'1.274
3 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0'1.622
4 Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 0'1.845
5 Tom Sykes Yamaha GBR 0'5.117
6 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'9.512
7 Shinya Nakano Aprilia JPN 0'9.514
8 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0'12.621
9 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'13.842
10 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 0'13.884
11 Leon Haslam Honda GBR 0'13.888
12 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'14.913
13 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0'15.762
14 Regis Laconi Ducati FRA 0'15.920
15 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'19.565


Best Lap
Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
Ben Spies Yamaha USA 1'59.041

Rider Standings 14/03/2009
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 85
2. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 75
3. Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 40
4. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 38
5. Leon Haslam Honda GBR 36
6. Tom Sykes Yamaha GBR 32
7. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 30
8. Regis Laconi Ducati FRA 30
9. Shinya Nakano Aprilia JPN 27
10. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 25
11. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 24
12. Troy Corser BMW AUS 22
13. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 21
14. Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 21
15. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 16

Manufacturer Standings 14/03/2009
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Ducati 85
2. Yamaha 81
3. Honda 51
4. Aprilia 41
5. Suzuki 40
6. BMW 27
7. Kawasaki 2

RACE REPORT 14/03/2009
Crutchlow fights it out to put Yamaha on the podium in Qatar

World Supersport rookie Cal Crutchlow put everything into a tough ride for his second race of the championship, fighting with rivals Eugene Laverty, Andrew Pitt and Kenan Sofuoglu for the coveted podium positions. A missed gear in the closing laps cost Crutchlow valuable time, however with tires fading he made it back up and finished the race third following a dramatic pass on Sofuoglu in the final lap. Crutchlow's team-mate Foret had a tricky start, and was then held up to 15th place avoiding trouble on the track. The Frenchman got onto a good race pace but an unfortunate high-side left him out of the race on the 3rd lap.


Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team
"A bit disappointing for me today, I feel I should have won the race, I think we still need to improve on some areas. I had a couple of moments on the edge of the track at the end, but you've got to put it out there to win! Hopefully when we get to Valencia and more European circuits I'm familiar with I can get closer to a victory."

Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team
"Not a great day for me, unfortunately I got caught up on the first lap which pushed me back down quite a few places. I wasn't feeling too comfortable but was pushing to come back up the field. Unfortunately I had a high-side coming out of the corner. I'm a little sore but determined to make up for it at Valencia and get into the top pack for the championship fight."

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager
"I'm happy we managed to get third and on the podium, we're slowly moving forwards. Fabien had a bad start, got hooked up on the first lap so dropped to fifteenth, and then couldn't find the feeling. He lost the rear tire and crashed out. It was disappointing of course. Cal had a good race, the track conditions were terrible, nearly 48 degrees, so he lost the front a couple of times, and also missed a shift which lost him even more time. He caught up but was unable to slipstream on the straights enough to overtake. He has a decent position in the championship though and everything is still to play for with the rest of the season still to come. Everything is really close together so the championship is still open for those top four or five riders."

Circuit Length: 5380
Weather: Hot
Lap Record:: 2' 3.921 (Sebastien Charpentier, 01/01/2006)
Fastest Lap Ever:: 2' 1.586 (Cal Crutchlow, 14/03/2009)
Last Years Winner:: Josep Pedro Subirats
2009 WSS Qatar - Doha/Losail 14/03/2009


Race 1
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Eugene Laverty Honda GBR 37'6.285
2 Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 0'0.063
3 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 0'0.625
4 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0'0.711
5 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 0'5.200
6 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 0'5.233
7 Garry McCoy Triumph AUS 0'9.538
8 Massimo Roccoli Honda ITA 0'9.551
9 Anthony West Honda AUS 0'9.616
10 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 0'12.159
11 Michele Pirro Yamaha ITA 0'15.044
12 Miguel Praia Honda POR 0'17.611
13 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 0'17.701
14 Gianluca Vizziello Honda ITA 0'19.897
15 Mark Aitchison Honda AUS 0'35.382
20 Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha IDN 0'58.948
21 Yannick Guerra Yamaha ESP 1'1.386


Best Lap
Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 2'2.577

Rider Standings 14/03/2009
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 40
2. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 38
3. Eugene Laverty Honda GBR 36
4. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 29
5. Anthony West Honda AUS 23
6. Massimo Roccoli Honda ITA 15
7. Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 15
8. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 12
9. Garry McCoy Triumph AUS 11
10. Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 11
11. Mark Aitchison Honda AUS 11
12. Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 9
13. Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 9
14. Michele Pirro Yamaha ITA 9
15. Gianluca Nannelli Triumph ITA 6

Manufacturer Standings 14/03/2009
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Honda 50
2. Yamaha 29
3. Triumph 15
4. Kawasaki 11
5. Suzuki 9

 

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WSBK Doha, Qatar, The Race
THREE TOP TENS FOR BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT!

BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus rode superbly in both the two 18-lap races in Doha today and earned themselves three top ten placings! Troy finished ninth in both races and Ruben took 13th in race one and followed that with a hard-fought for tenth in race two. Today?s tremendous results were all the more spectacular considering that Ruben and Troy had started the races from the fourth row of the grid after a problems in Superpole yesterday.
But almost more special than the top ten finishes was the sight of Troy in fourth place after two laps of race two! The Aussie had blasted off the line superbly from 16th on the grid and stunned everybody by crossing the line in fifth place at the end of lap one. By lap two he had stormed into fourth - a position he held until lap four. Although he ended the race in ninth, his spell in fourth place made up for all the disappointment the past two days and gives Troy, Ruben and the whole team a tremendous boost before the next race in three week?s time.

Troy - Race 1: 9th, Race 2: 9th
After practice and qualifying, we were a bit disappointed about our prospects of any good results from the fourth row of the grid. Overnight we found a solution to our top speed problem and that gave me a slim chance today. In race two, I made one of the best starts of my life, saw a gap and just went for it! It felt great to be up front with the race leaders and although I knew it wouldn?t last, it was great while it happened. At the moment, we are about half a second down on bike and chassis set-up and if we could cut that gap we?d be competitive for sure. It certainly doesn?t help starting from row four and, at Qatar, that probably means you lose seven or so seconds on the first lap and you have to spend the rest of the race playing catch up. To get two top tens today is certainly more than I was expecting before the season started and shows that the bike has real potential. After three weeks or so away, we?ll now be able to return to our workshops, analyse all the info and get the work started for the next round.

Ruben - Race 1: 13th, Race 2: 10th
I?m really happy with the races today and although there?s lots of work to do, I think Troy and I did a great job. I?m very happy with race two, because I ended nearly nine seconds closer to the front then in race one. On my sighting lap for race two, I thought it might be better to go longer on the rear sprocket. I knew that it would be a problem on the start, but it was a risk I wanted to take. And it wasn?t a good start, but I soon got into a good rhythm. My biggest surprise was seeing that Troy was fourth! I was jealous because I wanted to be there! I just kept pushing hard and I managed to catch Troy towards the end of the race. I thought about trying to pass him, but thought ?Ruben don?t do anything stupid?, so I stayed behind. Then Haslam overtook me two laps from the end and pushed me out of the top ten, but I said ?No, no, no!? and made sure I got past him before the finish so that Troy and I could both be in the top ten.

Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director)
The most important thing this weekend is that we have learnt a lot, but I must also say that the results today make me more than happy. Troy did an amazing job in both races and the great work between the two riders helped us get both in the top ten in race two. Considering that our team is still learning, I think this is a great achievement this early in the championship and I?d like to thank them and riders for all the hard work here and at Phillip Island. Friday was ?Black Friday? for us, but today our results mean we can all leave Qatar happy.

Results
Race 1: 1 Spies (USA-Yamaha), 2 Haga (J-Ducati), 3 Biaggi (I-Aprilia), 4 Nakano (J-Aprilia), 5 Checa (E-Honda), 6 Byrne (GB-Ducati), 7 Sykes (GB-Yamaha), 8 Kiyonari (J-Honda), 9 Troy Corser (Aus-BMW Motorrad Motorsport), 10 Laconi (F-Ducati), 13 Ruben Xaus (E-BMW Motorrad Motorsport),
Race 2: 1 Spies, 2 Haga, 3 Biaggi, 4 Kiyonari, 5 Sykes, 6 Neukirchner (D-Suzuki), 7 Nakano, 8 Rea (GB-Honda), 9 Troy Corser (Aus-BMW Motorrad Motorsport), 10 Ruben Xaus (E-BMW Motorrad Motorsport),

Points: 1 Haga 85, 2 Spies 75, 3 Neukirchner 40, 4 Biaggi 38, 5 Haslam 36, 6 Sykes 32, 7 Laconi 30, 8 Rea 30, 9 Nakano 27, 10 Kagayama 25, 12 Troy Corser (Aus-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 22, 17 Ruben Xaus (E-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 14