Noriyuki Haga overcame some early weekend set-up issues to power his way to a superb race two win for his Yamaha Italia at their home track of Monza. Having already scored second in the first race this was Haga's best weekend of the year so far and pushed him further up the championship table. He now sits third overall, on 112 points.
In the first race Haga pushed hard in the early laps, taking the new lap record of 1'45.882, beating his previous 2007 record as he brought himself forward to join what had been a breakaway pack lead by eventual winner Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki). The German then dominated the the 18-lap race, leading Haga and third place finisher Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox).
Haga was in contention for race two almost from the start, taking the lead over the line on lap three, and after some close action riding with Neukirchner and Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hanspree Ten Kate Honda), he held Kiyonari off over the line, with Neukirchner second, by only 0.009 seconds!
Noriyuki Haga - Yamaha Italia - 2nd/1st In the first race I tried to ride 100% but the feel was not really there. We had a team meeting and we altered the chassis settings and suspension for race two. We got a better feeling and I could push everywhere. I could not calculate for the last few laps I just knew I had to keep in front of everyone. On the last lap I tried to brake hard into the last corner and then passed Kiyonari. I am really happy today because everybody in the garage made a good job, so my thanks go to them.
Max Neukirchner - Alstare Suzuki - 1st/2nd I am so happy to win my first ever World Superbike race and proud and happy to be the first German rider to do so. It's a great feeling and I'm sure that there'll be much more interest in Germany now. Although I was a bit nervous before the race, I was not nervous in it or at the end. It was easy to be in front in race one and my bike felt very fast on the straights and good in the corners. I knew exactly where Haga was and knew what I had to do to beat him. I used the same bike and set up for race two, but Haga was a bit quicker in the corners. I was behind him when I suddenly saw a big cloud of smoke coming from his bike. I thought his engine had blown up and waited for him to slow down or pull over, but he kept on going! After half a lap or so, there was no more smoke. I attacked him hard in the last couple of laps, but he just about managed to outdrag me to the line and take the win.
Race 1 Highlights
Race 2 Final Lap
Troy Corser - Yamaha Italia - 12th/8th I struggled to get a good set-up today and the bike didn't feel as fast as we hoped it would. The bike felt unbalanced so I found it difficult braking into corners, the tyre seemed to spin up more on exit making it harder to drive out. I just couldn't get comfortable with it. The bike was better in race two but it didn't really feel better.
Troy Bayliss - Xerox Ducati - 3rd/DNF I knew today's races would be hard and that proved to be the case. In Race 1 I felt the bike was missing a couple of things and struggling on the long corners but in the end I was happy to take a third place in Race 1. My compliments to Max who takes his first Superbike win, both him and Nori rode a great race and there was nothing I could do to get past them. Race 2? Let's just say I'm happy to leave Monza with a bigger points lead than I had when I arrived.
Michel Fabrizio - Xerox Ducati - 9th/5th I'm very happy at the end of the day. There was some real racing going on out there today, and I had to fight hard to make up the places that I did. I needed to take points away this weekend and I did that, and in front of my home crowd too, so I can say that I'm pretty satisfied really.
Yukio Kagayama - Alstare Suzuki - 4th/DNF I am very sore after my race two crash! I don't know why I crashed because it happened so quickly and I had no chance of saving it. Maybe there was some dirt and gravel on the side of the track and I hit it and that caused the bike to change direction so violently. It was a big shame because I was thinking of maybe a podium and to end up in the Clinica Mobile was not my idea of how to finish the race. I had some brake problems in race one and that me go straight on in the chicanes sometimes, but I did not want to give up, so I kept pushing as hard as I dared. I hope my injuries are not serious, but I know I'm going to be very sore tomorrow morning.
Fonsi Nieto - Alstare Suzuki - 7th/4th I am not at all happy in race one because I was hit by Checa and the impact broke my seat. Because of that, I lost a little top speed and once I had lost touch with the leaders it was not possible to catch up again. Race two was quite good. I felt very comfortable on the bike and, as the race wore on, I was able to be more confident in one corner that had been causing me a little problem. I was behind Haga, when smoke suddenly appeared from the rear end of his bike. I thought that his engine had gone, so I slowed down because I was worried that oil was coming out. It even smelled a bit like oil, but half a lap later the smoke disappeared. By then I was too far away to challenge for a top spot and so I decided to keep my place and take fourth.
Carlos Checa - Hanspree Ten Kate Honda - 8th/DNF In the first race I had a problem when I touched with another rider off the start and I was way down the field. I had a good pace but I was so far back I could only recover a few places. In the second race I was in a better position but then another rider hit me at the entrance to the first chicane, under braking, and that maybe bent something at the back of the bike. I fell at the Parabolica but I still don't know why, maybe something to do with the earlier collision.
Ryuichi Kiyonari - Hanspree Ten Kate - 6th/3rd I was too slow at the start of race one so in race two I concentrated on getting a good start and pushed hard, right from the beginning. I was able to catch Neukirchner and Haga, although they were riding really well. At one stage I thought I could win, but I knew I had to brake late into the Parabolica and I nearly lost the front, which made me run wide on the entry. But I'm really happy with my first podium.
Regis Laconi - PSG-1 Kawasaki - DNF/DNF We had a problem with the bike in race two on the warm-up lap. I had to change the bike. This morning I broke an engine and in race two we had a problem again with the second bike. I came back to about 14th during the second leg and I tried too hard to catch the riders in front and I made mistake at the Parabolica. We can't understand why the bike is not fast here and why we have a lack of acceleration. Our engine is normally good in this regard.
Makoto Tamada - PSG-1 Kawasaki - DNF/DNF I had a crash in race one and a fuel problem in race two. We seemed to have lost power from Saturday to Sunday but, really, parts of this weekend have been positive in many ways. We made some real steps in qualifying, and with the general set-up of the whole bike.
Monza - Race 1 Results - 18 Laps
1. Neukirchner Suz GSX-R1000 32'02.851
2. Haga Yam YZF-R1 +0.058
3. Bayliss Duc 1098 F08 +0.672
4. Kagayama Suz GSX-R1000 +0.771
5. Biaggi Duc 1098 RS08 +3.869
6. Kiyonari Hon CBR1000RR +5.995
7. Nieto Suz GSX-R1000 +8.788
8. Checa Hon CBR1000RR +9.374
9. Fabrizio Duc 1098 F08 +10.667
10. Smrz Duc 1098 RS08 +10.771
11. Lavilla Hon CBR1000RR +12.180
12. Corser Yam YZF-R1 +14.719
13. Nakatomi Yam YZF-R1 +32.734
14. Lanzi Duc 1098 RS08 +36.550
15. Gimbert Yam YZF-R1 +36.607
16. Holland Hon CBR1000RR +52.464
17. Morelli Hon CBR1000RR +56.929
18. Aoyama Hon CBR1000RR +1'27.543
19. Beck Yam YZF-R1 +1'28.342
20. Tamada Kaw ZX-10R lap 16, DNF
21. Mauri Duc 999RS lap 14, DNF
22. Iannuzzo Kaw ZX-10R lap 13, DNF
23. Badovini Kaw ZX-10R lap 8, DNF
24. Xaus Duc 1098 RS08 lap 7, DNF
25. Laconi Kaw ZX-10R lap 3, DNF
26. Napoleone Yam YZF-R1 lap 2, DNF
27. Muggeridge Hon CBR1000RR lap 1, DNF
Monza - Race 2 Results
1. Haga Yam YZF-R1 32'07.576
2. Neukirchner Suz GSX-R1000 +0.009
3. Kiyonari Hon CBR1000RR +0.051
4. Nieto Suz GSX-R1000 +4.489
5. Fabrizio Duc 1098 F08 +10.272
6. Muggeridge Hon CBR1000RR +10.376
7. Xaus Duc 1098 RS08 +10.496
8. Corser Yam YZF-R1 +12.498
9. Badovini Kaw ZX-10R +19.429
10. Lavilla Hon CBR1000RR +26.373
11. Lanzi Duc 1098 RS08 +26.544
12. Nakatomi Yam YZF-R1 +26.895
13. Holland Hon CBR1000RR +27.761
14. Gimbert Yam YZF-R1 +29.661
15. Beck Yam YZF-R1 +1'29.001
16. Aoyama Hon CBR1000RR +3 laps
17. Tamada Kaw ZX-10R lap 17, DNF
18. Biaggi Duc 1098 RS08 lap 15, DNF
19. Smrz Duc 1098 RS08 lap 15, DNF
20. Checa Hon CBR1000RR lap 9, DNF
21. Napoleone Yam YZF-R1 lap 9, DNF
22. Bayliss Duc 098 F08 lap 8, DNF
23. Laconi Kaw ZX-10R lap 6, DNF
24. Kagayama Suz GSX-R1000 lap 4, DNF
25. Iannuzzo Kaw ZX-10R lap 3, DNF
26. Morelli Hon CBR1000RR lap 1, DNF
World Championship Point Standings (after 10 of 30 races)
1. Bayliss 194
2. Checa 116
3. Haga 112
4. Neukirchner 111
5. Nieto 107
6. Corser 101
7. Xaus 90
8. Biaggi 65
9. Kiyonari 65
10. Lavilla 59
