With three rounds to go Ben Spies has taken an eighteen point lead in the World Superbike Championship. Spies had his worst qualifying performance of the season (5th), but managed to come away with a first and a second in the two races at the Nurburgring. Former championship leader Noriyuki Haga took his first superpole of the season, but he was less fortunate on race day with a second in race one and a retirement in race two after colliding with eventual race winner Jonathan Rea.Haga had been passed for the lead on the previous lap by Carlos Checa, and was being followed in third by Rea as they approached the turn, “Rea came up fast on the straight and hit me. There was nothing I could do and I couldn't restart the bike. I'm angry as it is the second time this has happened. I guess the only consolation is that I'm not hurt." The accident left Haga perilously stranded in the middle of the turn with riders passing him on both sides, but he got away safely. Race commentator and former superbike rider Steve Martin called it a “racing incident”, and Rea had a similar opinion, “Haga ran quite wide and I went on the inside, and although I didn't see him I felt a big bang and only found out he crashed after the race. I'm sorry for that but don't think it was my fault and I wouldn't blame him”.
Spies fifth place starting spot in the second row was his worst in a season that’s included nine poles in eleven rounds. "The first race was tough and Nori got away so I had to reel him back in. When I got to him I knew he was really strong in the first few corners so I slowed the pace a bit and controlled him through there. With three laps to go we pulled the pin and got back down to some fast laps. The second race was a tough one. I didn't get a great start and had to spend some time working through the pack. When I eventually got up to Rea he had a great pace. I used up a lot of my tires fighting through the pack and was starting to slide around a bit at the end so tucked in and took the points".
Rea’s win was his second of the season, and it moved him within forty-five points of Michel Fabrizio who sits third in the points. Fabrizio struggled to seventh and ninth place finishes, and with 150 points up for grabs in the remaining three rounds the ever improving Rea has a realistic chance of capturing third in the championship if Fabrizio continues to struggle. Rea has a win, two thirds and a fourth in his has last four outings, and Fabrizio has a third, seventh, ninth and a retirement.
John Hopkins’ seemingly endless string of bad luck continued when he was involved in a first lap crash in race one, “I knew the start would be tough, and I had to be somewhere tactical to get myself into the top 10 by the end of the first lap. I ran a bit wide coming out of turn one and then got hit from behind in the second turn and high-sided into Broc Parkes. I was unconscious for 10 minutes before waking up in the ambulance. A bike ran over my chest, but apart from that I have no serious injuries”. Teammate Leon Haslam had a solid weekend with a sixth in race one and a fifth in race two. He was running second in race two, but was slowed by front end chatter. Haslam sits sixth in championship just twenty-three points behind Max Biaggi.
Troy Corser looked strong again on the BMW S1000 RR. The Australian ran near the front early in both races and finished in sixth in race one and eighth in race two, "The bike is easier to ride, more comfortable, more consistent and I'm having fun riding it! I am waiting for the team to make the next step up, so that I can consistently challenge the leaders”. Teammate Ruben Xaus is still recovering from his injuries at Brno, and was replaced by British rider Richard Cooper who crashed in both races.
Yamaha’s press release over the weekend stating that they had signed Spies for the next two seasons has come under close scrutiny. At first glance it would seem that Spies will be riding in WSBK in 2010 and MotoGP in 2011, but the phrasing “the program forsees a season in 2010 with the Yamaha World Superbike team” leaves the door open for Spies moving to MotoGP in 2010. Giving further credence to that theory Michael Scott of GPWeek.com has this quote from Lin Jarvis, Yamaha’s managing director of motor racing, “Ben’s primary mission is to win Yamaha’s first World Superbike title, then we will be ready for him in MotoGP”.
As of this weekend the only two Yamaha rides that remained in MotoGP were with the Tech 3 Yamaha satellite team, and after the race at Misano Colin Edwards announced that he would be riding for the Tech 3 team in 2010. It’s highly unlikely that the team will resign James Toseland for the 2010 season, and team owner Herve Poncharal has already stated that he would like to have Spies on the team so if he can win the championship it looks like he’ll be in MotoGP next year.
The next round of the World Superbike championship is at Imola on September 27th.
