[whippersnapper]

Noriyuki Haga lost the lead in the World Superbike Championship for the first time this season after scoring 2nd and a DNF at the 2 races at the Nürburgring Sunday in Germany. Haga rode toe to toe in the late stages of the first race with Ben Spies but was unable to pass the American despite a thrilling series of last laps. In the second race Haga was knocked off by ultimate winner Jonathan Rea while leading. Haga now trails Spies by 18 points with 3 round (6 races) to go. Details here


Race 1 Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 39′04.818 (157,737 kph); 2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 3.850; 3. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 6.990; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 7.109; 5. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 12.825; 6. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 13.243; 7. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 14.223; 8. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 14.382; 9. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 17.206; 10. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 26.547; 11. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 27.388; 12. Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 30.968; 13. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 31.069; 14. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 31.188; 15. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 40.165; 16. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 54.897


1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 39′01.561 (157,956 kph); 2. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 0.786; 3. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 4.993; 4. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 8.191; 5. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 10.907; 6. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 17.152; 7. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 19.473; 8. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 19.721; 9. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 22.981; 10. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 24.161; 11. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 29.367; 12. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 30.007; 13. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 37.281; 14. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 47.883; 15. Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 49.549; 16. Baiocco M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 49.635

 

[Matt_P]

Old (and bad) news broski....

 

[sean197611]

I have nothing against Johnny Rea, but it really pissed me off when Rea knock down my man Haga san..................

If Haga can't win the next 3 rounds, Misano will definately be the down turn of his "maybe" last run for WSBK title.

 

[whippersnapper]

Haga has also had some luck too though for example Fabrizio knocking Spies down so I'm not too worried about that. The interest factor now is that Haga has had to defend all year and Spies attack and now the roles are reversed. Should be fun to watch

 

[John]

It was just a matter of time before this (points lead change) would happen. You can't stop the jugernaut Yamaha, clearly the superior bike on the grid, any grid. Spies played Haga until it was time to pass and he did just that. I think he could have passed Rea as well, but why risk 20 points with Haga out and so few races left.

I think by Haga's reaction as he crossed the finish line this was his last chance to win a Championship. Also his reaction in the post race interview clearly showed he was down and almost out. I kind of felt sorry for him. He has come close so many times and it doesn't help the Ducati has not improved whereas both the Yamaha and now the Honda are getting faster and faster. This same situation is plagueing Ducati in both WSBK and MotoGP.

I don't know what Haga's plans are for next year or if he has a contract extension, but hes not getting any younger. The earlier accident has taken a lot out of him and it takes much longer to heal. Haga has been lucky with a relatively injury free career until recently.

I recall prior to the beginning of I think the first year of the 1098 FIM made some rules regarding air restrictors on the Ducati. If the Ducati is not up to snuff compared to the competition FIM would allow them to open up the air restrictors by .25 at a time until some kind of parity is reached with the competition. Likewise, if they (Ducati) are dominating then the air restrictors would be turned back the other way, less by .25 increments. If it hasn't been maxed out all the way, now its time to allow Ducati a little more air. I hope they havn't been maxed out. Ducati engineers and race personel must be pulling their hair out trying to get more power out of the bike in both WSBK and MotoGP. I know the same goes for all the factory teams, but for Ducati to be this close and loosing momemtum every race weekend, it must be super frustrating. I didn't like Ducati's response in MotoGP recently, throwing tempting contract offers at Jorge Lorenzo and Loris Capirossi. Both racers were smart to decline, why jump on a looser? What Ducati was doing by this is telling us its the rider not their bike. Now that Nicky is signed for another year (fantastic I think) and hopefully Stoner will be back at Estoril, these crazy contract antics by Ducati will subside for a least a year now. As it stands now I predict Haga will take second this year and if he rides next year maybe third or fourth. I say this because the other teams are improving their bike's performance alot faster than Ducati. Look at Honda's growing influence and I think Suzuki will do better next year in Motogp. Another reason is the uncanny way all of the Asian manufacturers improve their 600cc machines yearly. It amazes me how much more technology they have with those "little" bikes, it seems very reasonable to me this carries over to the liter class. But with Ducati they had to increase displacement by a whopping 200CCs because the 999 was at the end of its technology cycle and were deemed to costly to race tune. Just the fact even with a 200cc increase Ducati didn't make a leap fold advancement as you would expect, the Japanese engineers kept pace because their liter bikes still have potential to improve and they have been doing just that. The scales of race performance was advantage Ducati earlier in the season or even earlier, but now the scales of performance have clearly tipped back in favor of the Japanese bikes. I think this trend will continue unless Ducati can pull a rabbit out of their technology hat. I believe at this very moment they are lobbying the governing boards to allow them to do other things to improve the bike's performance. I don't think the governing boards are going to roll over for Ducati, the lack of competitiveness hasn't gotten to a crisis, except in the minds of the Ducatistas and Ducati Corse Racing.

 

[DucmanST3]

I have nothing against Johnny Rea, but it really pissed me off when Rea knock down my man Haga san..................

racing incident not like the dumbass move that put Hayden out

I thought it curious that the commentators stated Ducati didn't develop the bike during the lay off as they were strapped for cash, and they do need more speed on the top end.

 

[freighttriain]

nice write up John.... good read.

i think it's just comes down to cultural differences... i work with both Italian.. and Japanese technicians.. the difference is very simple... my Italian friends will crack open a bottle of wine and we will celebrate all of our little achievements...

my japanese friends.. no matter how great our little achievements are.. well their habit is to immediately start thinking of ways to improve..

we all have a great time doing our jobs, i just noticed some similarities... and trust me. this IS a topic during our day...

 

[tye1138]

Haga was really torn about that loss in race one, that really hit him hard. The crash in race 2 was simply kinda like Monza with the bird incident... Had that dam bird not interfered, the season would have gone a lot different. His crash at Donnington Park was really the only big problem he faced, besides the high-side at Miller during practice.

I think Haga will stay at Ducati, so will Fabrizio.

Ben Spies will probably win the championship, though Ducati will win the Manufacturers title. Spies will move into MotoGP (where he wants to be) and Haga will then rise to the next level and be the king of WSBK. Right now its all about Spies staying on top of things. If he has a bad day, Nori will be right behind him.

In terms of the Ducati getting better... I don't know if thats about to happen. There is a small chance it could get a rule change next season due to the satellite teams not doing so well. Shaky Byrne is ready to do well though, I think after a season on the satellite team, he's ready to move up to the big boys, its just a question of which Duc...

Is the Ducati the best bike in WSBK? Yes, it really is. Ben Spies is just a substantially better rider then everyone else, he just lays waste to the old men and kids which make up the WSBK paddock. The Yamaha isn't the best bike, though it seems to be only second best to the Ducati and that second best is REALLY close... I think Ducati need to release the street going V4 now and get a move on with the development in WSBK. I seriously think we're witnessing the death of twins and if the FIM gives Ducati that small decrease in the restrictor plates, you bet your ass the bike will be winning every race next season without Ben Spies around! Thats a tough gamble...

 

[Chuckracer]

I've been rooting for Ben all season, but I too felt bad for Haga. He won't be down for long though!

 

[sean197611]

I've been rooting for Haga since he first rode Ducati back in 1994.................

 

[94CobraR]

I'd have to agree that the Yamaha isn't a better bike, just has a better rider, otherwise we'd see Yamaha's pulling away from the pack as a whole, not just a single rider.

And Tye, isn't Spies already signed with Yamaha for next year's WSBK season? How can he end up in GP?

 

[whippersnapper]

It isn't all over yet. Crashes can occur with or without injuries and we will see if Haga can attack now that defending is no longer required. We don't know if his endurance gave out at the end of race 1 given his injuries but unlike the last few races, Haga was all over Spies as the race closed down. However the balance of probabilities has shifted to Spies now.

 

[tye1138]

And Tye, isn't Spies already signed with Yamaha for next year's WSBK season? How can he end up in GP?

He has a contract with Yamaha that says the factory can choose his destiny based on his results. This is why the Tech 3 team is in the air...

 

[MongoWERA]

He has a contract with Yamaha that says the factory can choose his destiny based on his results. This is why the Tech 3 team is in the air...

Tech3 is also trying to decide if they want to keep Toseland. Also, the factory doesn't have wholesale power over where Ben races, he has a say in it as well.

 

[Chuckracer]

Also, I would imagine Yamaha would really like that #1 plate on a bike in WSB racing at the front for 2010. I don't think you'll see Ben make that jump till 2011.

 

[MongoWERA]

Yep, I'd be surprised if he didn't do a couple of GP wildcards but still expect a full season in WSB unless they really need him in the GP's for some reason.

 

[kingsnake1650]

I'd have to agree that the Yamaha isn't a better bike, just has a better rider, otherwise we'd see Yamaha's pulling away from the pack as a whole, not just a single rider.

+1!! I finally got to sit down and watch the races lastnight. It was an awesome 1st race between haga and spies. I was suprised at how well haga had healed up, but spies is just the faster guy! If not for all the problems with the Yamaha (clutch, fuel, shifters falling off) Ben would have already run away with it. Ben has proven that at most tracks he is the man to beat, and the other tracks favor the Ducati.
the only way that Haga is going to win is if Spies beats himself or the bike falls apart again... looks like Haga let another one slip away.