Haga Doubles

Cycle News Staff | June 15, 2008
Yamaha Motor Italia’s Nori Haga swept the World Superbike Championship double-header by adding the rain-hit and red-flagged second race to his earlier race one victory at the Nurburgring in Germany.

Haga was just in front of teammate Troy Corser on the 15th of 20 laps when both decided the rain was too intense to continue. They raised their hands and the race was over.

Scoring reverted to lap 14, with Haga winning by .150 seconds. Team Alstare Suzuki’s Max Neukirchner was third for the second time today. The second race deficit was 5.316 secs.

The double win was the first of the season for Haga, who only two weeks ago broke his collarbone in three places in a Saturday practice crash at Miller Motorsports Park. Dr. Arthur Ting stabilized the bone with a plate and eight screws.

Haga’s double vaulted him to fourth in the championship, only four points behind the German Neukirchner.

Ducati Xerox’s Troy Bayliss continues to lead the championship despite making mistakes in both races. Bayliss was leading the first race when ran wide in the first turn less than two laps from the end to hand Haga the win. In the second race he made two mistakes on the same fifth lap, dropping from the lead to fifth place.

Once the leaders broke away, Bayliss could only recover one spot, taking fourth from Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Carlos Checa on the 14th lap to go with his first race second.

The reigning world champion continues to have a healthy points lead on Checa, a pair of fifths today, 227 to 188. Then Neukirchner on 176 and Haga at 172.

Bayliss and Checa were mixed up with a few other riders before clearing out on laps 13 and 14 of race two. That left Ducati Xerox’s Michel Fabrizio to fend off Sterilgarda Go Eleven teammates Max Biaggi (Duc) and Ruben Xaus for sixth. Biaggi and Xaus were seventh and eighth, respectively.

Then a gap to Team Suzuki Alstare’s Fonsi Nieto, in ninth, Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse’s Regis Laconi tenth, and Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari eleventh.

Alto Evolution Honda’s Jason Pridmore was 23rd.

Race Two:

1. Nori Haga (Yamaha)

2. Troy Corser (Yamaha)

3. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki)

4. Troy Bayliss (Ducati)

5. Carlos Checa (Honda)

6. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati)

7. Max Biaggi (Ducati)

8. Ruben Xaus (Ducati)

9. Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki)

10. Regis Laconi (Kawasaki)

Other:

23. Jason Pridmore