WSBK: Imola Testing

Fabrizio blitzes Superbike field in day 1 of WSB testing at Imola

World Superbike Press Release

Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) stormed to the top slot in the first day of official Superbike group testing at the Autodromo di Imola Wednesday. After 265 minutes of heat-sapping track action at the revised Santerno circuit, the young Italian slammed in an impressive time of 1 minute 49.164 seconds in the final seconds to edge Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) off the top slot. Fabrizio is running singleton for the Ducati factory squad at Imola as points leader Noriyuki Haga is scheduled to return at Brno following his recent Donington crash.

"On the last lap I put on a new tire to set my time, one of the development tires that Pirelli brought along for this extreme heat," declared Fabrizio. "We worked a lot on the set-up, something we've never managed to do really well during the championship, and we worked on the traction control to try and get the best out of the engine in view of Brno. I really wanted to prove to Ben that I'm right there with him. There are still five rounds left and I think he realizes that by now!"

Right throughout the day the battle had been between Spies and Fabrizio, but they were joined at the end by a group of riders who also set impressive times. Next up was Britain's Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), just five-tenths down on the front man, while Ruben Xaus (BMW Motorrad) showed great progress for the German squad by powering through into an impressive fourth slot with his quickest time of the day in the closing stages. Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), fastest in the morning, maintained his good form in the afternoon, improving his time to end up fifth.

Three Brits took the next three positions, but all were over the 1m50s mark, Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) coming in ahead of Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike) and Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda), while Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati DFX) and Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare BRUX) completed the top ten runners. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare BRUX) eased himself back into the WSB scene with an encouraging 14th position, but there was little joy today for Aprilia Racing, as Shinya Nakano and Max Biaggi could only take their RSV4 machines to 12th and 17th respectively.

In the Supersport sessions, Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) proved to be too strong for the opposition on the first day, the Coventry man posting a time that was six-tenths quicker than Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) hauled himself up to third place, one tenth behind, Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) also lapped within a second of the leader to finish fourth, just ahead of Mark Aitchison (Honda Althea) in fifth.

Runner-up slot and a cracked bone for Biaggi at Donington

World Superbike Press Release

Max Biaggi may have powered his Aprilia RSV4 to a best-ever second place result in the Italian factory's fledgling WSB year, but he also came away from Donington Park with a cracked bone in his right foot. On lap 4 of the second race Biaggi lost his front tire at the Melbourne hairpin and slipped to the ground.

He quickly got back on his bike and returned to the race, but on re-entry, Max came into contact with Polita (Celani Suzuki) along the outer curb and slipped back to twentieth place. During the crash, the Roman rider ended up with a bruise and a minor injury to the third metatarsal of his right foot, but he still managed to finish the race in twentieth place. The degree of his injuries will not prevent Max from participating in the Aprilia's private test run on the Brno track that is scheduled for July 1st and 2nd.

"I'm very pleased with the result of race 1," declared Biaggi. "After some difficult trials, we finally found the right tires and balance, even though we had a few problems during the warm-up. We had a great race, and we managed to set a pace that was just under the track record. I must compliment Ben, because he set an incredible pace. At the last chicane, the bike died out suddenly, but fortunately it started again and because of the lead I had gained over Haga, I still managed to cross the finish line in second place. During the second race, I felt the vibrations a lot more, it was probably because of the fact that there wasn't as much grip on the track which would also explain why there were so many falls. I started off well and I was able to keep up with Spies' pace, but during the fourth lap I entered the hairpin the same way I always do and about halfway through, I lost the front tire. I managed to keep the motorcycle running, but re-entering from the outer curb area, I was hit by another driver and ended up with this minor injury to my foot. I'm disappointed because I could have had another podium finish."

July Becomes WSBK Testing Month

World Superbike Press Release

In the four-week break between the Donington race and the next round, several teams will be taking part in a series of development tests.

Aprilia are out testing today and tomorrow at the AutoMotodrom Brno in view of the race there on July 26. Max Biaggi and Shinya Nakano, who obtained good overall results at Donington, will test on their own at the Czech track, which has been selected as testing circuit by the Italian manufacturer.

BMW on the other hand are going to Mugello for two days of testing on July 8 and 9.

On Wednesday and Thursday, July 15 and 16, two days of Superbike and Supersport testing have been organized by Infront Motor Sports at the Imola circuit, which has undergone recent modifications.

Surgery a success, Haga returning to Italy

World Superbike Press Release

At 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, Ducati Xerox rider Noriyuki Haga underwent successful surgery at the Derby City Hospital. Having fractured the ulna in his right arm in Sunday’s crash at Donington Park, Noriyuki today had a plate and screws inserted to set the bone. The surgical team deemed the surgery a success and there were no unforeseen complications.

Prior to the operation, medical staff took a closer look at his right shoulder blade and an x-ray unfortunately confirmed that he has multiple fractures to his left scapula. The scapula will not necessitate surgical intervention and the bone should knit itself back together in time; this complication should not prolong Noriyuki's recovery time. The Japanese rider should be discharged from hospital today and he and his family will fly back to Italy so that Noriyuki can begin the necessary physiotherapy treatment.

The Ducati Xerox rider will not participate in the next tests at Imola but it is foreseen that he will compete in the next round at Brno.

Full house in WSB for BSB riders past and present

Press Release

Riders from the past three seasons of the ViSK British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli put on a stunning performance at the World Superbike Championship event at Donington Park Sunday, taking seven of the top ten places in race two.

The championship-leading Airwaves Yamaha team was joined by confused.com-backed MSS Colchester Kawasaki's Simon Andrews as wildcards for this round. Leon Camier made an astounding comeback after a massive crash in second qualifying yesterday at Craner Curves. The team worked hard to rebuild his number one machine overnight and from his fifth row start in 17th place he was able to fight his way through the field to finish sixth in race two.

James Ellison on the second of the Airwaves Yamahas crashed out of the top ten in race one and was edged out by former double BSB champion Ryuichi Kiyonari for sixth in race two. Andrews meanwhile was the top Kawasaki rider in the second race, finishing tenth.

Last year's BSB championship runner-up Leon Haslam put on an impressive display at his home track, finishing second in race two to Ben Spies. Reigning BSB champion Shane 'Shakey' Byrne had his strongest qualifying performance of the season to start from the front row and finished third in the opening race and fourth in race two. Tom Sykes also had a strong finish in race two, finishing fifth after closing down Byrne in the final laps.

In the World Supersport Championship race, last year's title contender Cal Crutchlow took the win to extend his lead in the overall standings, whilst wildcard James Westmoreland finished 11th on the JW Racing Triumph ahead of next weekend's Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship round at Knockhill.

Your next chance to see BSB will be on Wednesday 1 July when it takes to the streets of Glasgow for Superbikes in the Square presented by Swan. See all your favorite BSB riders in action at George Square.

The next round takes place at Knockhill July 3-5.

June 29, 2009

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Haga’s condition less serious than expected

World Superbike Press Release

Noriyuki Haga was transported to the Emergency department of Derby City Hospital by helicopter at about 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon, after having been victim of a massive high-side during Race 2 at Donington Park. The Japanese rider, accompanied by doctors from the Clinica Mobile, was seen by Doctor Rajan and once extensive tests and an urgent CAT scan were carried out, Dr. Rajan declared that the fracture to one of the vertebrae that had shown up on the X-ray taken at the circuit's Medical Centre was actually a very old fracture and must have been caused during another much earlier incident, years previously. This fracture has, over time, sealed without medical intervention and doesn't present a problem.

After a stable night in the Pre-Op assessment ward of Derby City Hospital, Noriyuki Haga will undergo surgery this afternoon to insert a plate and screws in his right forearm, to set a fracture to the right ulna. He is continuing to experience pain in the left shoulder blade, and so although no serious damage has yet been detected, doctors will investigate further to understand the cause of the pain.

The only injury needing immediate treatment at this time is the broken ulna. If the surgery is deemed a success, and there are no complications regarding his shoulder blade, Noriyuki should be able to return home to Italy in the next two days and the Ducati Xerox Team does not currently exclude the possibility of Noriyuki's return to the track in time for the next round in the Czech Republic, on the 26th July at Brno.
June 29, 2009

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