It started off on Saturday at Assen with Bradley Smith getting yet another podium, shame he didn’t get to celebrate it as it was awarded after a post race decision to dock Nico Terol 20 seconds for cutting the chicane. This gave the Aspar team a clean sweep of the podium with Sergio Gadea, Julián Simón and Bradley Smith taking Aspar’s podiums number 200, 201 and 202.

James Toseland then went on to have a thrilling battle for sixth place in the MotoGP race, which saw Valentino Rossi take his GP win count to 100. It was a six way contest for sixth place between James Toseland, Mika Kallio, Nicky Haden, Loris Capirossi, Randy de Puniet and Toni Elais. Which went from early on when it was a battle for eight right up until the last lap when after Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso crashed out ahead of the chasing pack. James led the pack in sixth for most of the race until the last lap when he was demoted to ninth only to be bounced back up to sixth by Mika crashing and Toni and Loris Tangling in the last half of the lap.

Sunday saw the World SuperBikes come to Donnington Ben Spies put on his usual show of winning, but the Brits put on a good show too with Shane Byrne getting onto the third step of the podium and Leon Haslam coming home fourth in the first race. The second race saw more drama as Max Biaggi crashed out of second and then Noriyuki Haga had a massive crash, these two crashes allow Leon up into second after a ding dong battle with Michel Fabrizio and Shane Byrne (third and fourth), Tom Sykes made up for a DNF in race one with fifth position ahead of wildcard Brit Leon Camier.

Cal Crutchlow continued his impressive form by winning the World SuperSport race to go 28 points ahead of Eugene Laverty, although this time there wasn’t the usual tit for tat battle between the two of them as Eugene fell early on and had to fight his way back up from 26th to 5th.

This coming weekend MotoGP goes to Laguna Secawill we get a repeat of last years thrilling race between Valentino Rossi and Cassey Stoner, can James Toseland continue to regain his form and give us the result we all know he can?

We have a four week break until the World SuperBikes and SuperSport are back in action at Brno

Posted in: Bikes  Tags: 125 gp, andrea dovizioso, bradley smith, ben spies, cal crutchlow, casey stoner, eugene laverty, donnington, james toseland, julian simon, leon haslam, michel fabrizio, motogp, noriyuki haga, shane byrne, superbikes, supersport, tom sykes, wsb, wss

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The eighth round of the World SuperBike Championship took place at Misano on Sunday, Race one started wet and Britain’s Shane Byrne got a flying start from the second row of the grid to take and stretch the lead on lap one. Byrne’s lead was almost 20 seconds at one point, until the track started to dry out and riders started switching to their dry bikes. Ben Spies managed to get his dry bike at the right time as he made his way through the pack up to Byrne before passing him in the closing stages. Jonathan Rea was looking good having qualified second, however stating from the pit lane and receiving a ride through penalty he still made it home in seventh ahead of Tom Sykes in eighth.

Race two saw Jonathan Rea start from his qualifying position and taking advantage of it spending most of the race battling with Noryuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio with the first three places swapping throughout the race and sometime lap. But at the flag it was Rea who came across the line first to take his maiden Superbike win. The day was made better by having Byrne, Sykes and Haslam in the top eight.

With Donnington and more British riders courtesy of wildcard rides next weekends round should be one to watch.

Posted in: Bikes , Bikes - Racing  Tags: misano, jonathan rea, michel fabrizio, tom sykes, wsb, shane byrne, leon haslam, noriyuki haga, ben spies

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The first start to race one saw the first corner claim five bikes and riders and the race stopped. Makato Tamada, Tommy Hill, Troy Corser, Max Neukirchner and Brendan Roberts all went down in two crashes. Neukirchner and Roberts both sustained serious injuries, Neukirchner suffered a broken right Femur and a dislocated left foot, whilst Roberts has a break high on his left Femur and also sustained a heavy blow to his throat. Tamada suffered a broken left wrist, whilst Corser and Hill both walked away and were able to join the restart.

After a lengthy delay race one was restarted and the battle at the front was between Ben Spies, Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga. This three way battle carried on for all 18 laps with the leaf swapping several times a lap, Spies looked to have broke Fabrizio and Haga, until with metres to go Spies Yamaha R1 ran out of fuel at the Parabolica. Speis misfortune allowed Fabrizio to take his maiden wins in World Superbike. Spies coasted home to get the final point in 15th. Jonathan Rea brought his Ten Kate Honda home in fifth, Tome Sykes claimed sixth on the second Yamaha R1, to make up for a slightly disappointing qualifying having been constantly on the pace in practice. Shane Bryne came home in 14th on the Sterilgarda Ducati, Tommy Hill brought his Althea Honda home in 20th place after getting tangled at the first corner during the first start. Lean Haslam ended the race disappointed when hi Stiggy Honda ran out of fuel.

Race two went a bit more as planned for Ben Spies as he managed to break away early and make his fuel last until the end to take victory in race two. Michel Fabrizio came in second with Ryuichi Kiyonari third, Jonathan Rea managed to claim fourth with Tom Syke sixth again and Lean Haslam getting seventh. Further back Saw Tommy Hil in 17th and Shane Byrne in 18th.

The standings at the top remain unchanged with Bot Noriyuki and Ben dropping point to each other maintaining a status quo, Michel leapfrogged Lean for third and Tom did the same To Max to move up to fifth.

Standings

1 Noriyuki Haga Ducati 200
2 Ben Spies Yamaha 146
3 Michel Fabrizio Ducati 125
4 Leon Haslam Honda 103
5 Tom Sykes Yamaha 90

8 Jonathan Rea Honda 77
14 Shane Byrne Ducati 41
20 Tommy Hill Honda 6

Posted in: Bikes , Bikes - Racing , Motor Sport  Tags: ben spies, honda, leon haslam, monza, qualifying, shane byrne, superbikes, tommy hill, tom sykes, jonathan rea, yamaha, wsb, makato tamada, troy corser, max neukirchner, brendan roberts, michel fabrizio, noriyuki haga

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World Superbike Superpole was a closely fought battle that saw some shake ups to the grid, with Max Biagi and Ruben Xuas not making it thought to the second 16 and neither did Tom Sykes.

Ben Spies put the Yamaha R1 on pole for the third time in succession which must give him a good chance of another good result in tomorrow’s races.

Of the Brits only Jonathan Rea made it through to the last eight, with Shane Byrne crashing heavily in the second session (we hope is OK for the races).

In World Supersport the Brit news was better with Coventry’s own Cal Crutchlow putting the Yamaha R6 on pole. Can Cal turn the pole in to a win at Valencia? 

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Posted in: Bikes , Bikes - Racing  Tags: wss, qualifying, ben spies, cal crutchlow, eugene laverty, valencia, supersport, tom sykes, tommy hill, wsb, yamaha, superbikes, racing, leon haslam, jonathan rea

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Fridays Superbike Qualifying sees Ben Spies, Noriyuki Haga and Max Biaggi battle for the top spot in a closely fought first qualifying session with only half a second splitting the top ten. British riders with only Tommy Hill and Shanne Byrne more than half a second off the front.

In the Supersport Cal Crutchlow was second fastest but Eugene Laverty down in 14th and two seconds of the front following his win at Losail.

 

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Posted in: Bikes , Bikes - Racing , Motor Sport  Tags: cal crutchlow, jonathan rea, leon haslam, losail, valencia, supersport, superbikes, wsb, yamaha, tom sykes, tommy hill, eugene laverty

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This weekend see the second round of the 2009 F1 season following on from the thrilling opening round in Australia just last weekend. Can Brawn GP build on their fantastic debut?

We also have round three of the Hannspree superbike world championship 2009 from  Valencia, will Ben Spies win in Spain, could Lean haslam, Tom Sykes, Tommy Hill, Jonathan Rea or Shane Byrne do it for the UK? How will john Hopkins adjust from Moto GP to WSB?

So far in F1 the Ferrari's of Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa area fastest after the second free practice session, the Brawn GP's of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button are in 6th and 7th.

In WSB Charlos Checa was fastest in the first free practice with all the Brits outside the top 10 along with Ben Spies and John Hopkins.

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Posted in: Motor Sport  Tags: brawn gp, cal crutchlow, f1, lewis hamilton, jenson button, leon haslam, racing, tommy hill, wsb, tom sykes, superbikes, supersport, valencia, kimi räikkönen, felipe massa

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Saturday saw Ben Spies win both rounds of the Hanspree SuperBike World campionship at the Losail circuit in Qatar. Spies on the Yamaha R1 kept Noriyuki Haga on the Xerox Ducati and Max Neukirchner on the Alstare Suzuki  at bay for both races maintaining his impressive opening form. Both race one and race two had the same podium of Spies, haga and Neukirchner. British fortune was Ok with all but Tommy Hill (retired in race two) finishing with points from both races. Race one saw Byrne in 6th, Sykes in 7th, Haslam come through to 11th, rea in 12th and hill in 15th. Race two saw Sykes  finish in 5th after a better start, Rea in 8th, Haslam came thought the field for 11th whilst Byrne slipped to 12th

Standings
1 N. Haga JPN 85
2 B. Spies USA 75
3 M. Neukirchner GER 40
4 M. Biaggi ITA 38
5 L. Haslam GBR 36

6 T. Sykes GBR 32
8 J. Rea GBR 30
16 S. Byrne GBR 14
18 T. Hill GBR 5

In the Supersport  Eugene Laverty beat Cal Crutchlow,  to the win in a close race.

Standings
1 A. Pitt AUS 40
2 K. Sofuoglu TUR 38
3 E. Laverty IRL 36
4 C. Crutchlow GBR 29
5 A. West AUS 23

Posted in: Bikes , Bikes - Racing  Tags: ben spies, bikes, leon haslam, losail, wsb, yamaha, tommy hill, tom sykes, superbikes, eugene laverty, jonathan rea, cal crutchlow,

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After an action packed start to the season at Phillip Island, the World Superbike are at Losail, Qatar this weekend. With the race on Saturday rather than Sunday practice and qualifying is already underway, with the Brits putting on a good show again. Especial Cal Crutchlow who tops the timesheets for supersport Thursday qualifying. Jonathan Rea is right on Ben Spies tail in the superbikes, with Shane Byrne looking good to make up for his two DNFs at the Island.

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Posted in: Bikes , Bikes - Racing , Motor Sport  Tags: andrew pitt, cal crutchlow, jonathan rea, leon haslam, losail, shane byrne, wsb, supersport, tom sykes, tommy hill, superbikes, yamaha, qatar, racing, anthony west

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Finally we see action from the opening round of the 2009 Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship, and what a race we got.  Ben Spies on the Yamaha World Superbike starting from pole lost his advantage of pole after going off on the first lap to spend his first WSB race battling at the back of the pack. The brits showed their hands early on with Jonathan Rea  on the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda leading in the opening laps with Leon Haslam in the mix at the front on the Stiggy Racing Honda.

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Posted in: Bikes , Bikes - Racing  Tags: cal crutchlow, phillip island, shane byrne, tom sykes, tommy hill, superbikes, supersport, wsb, racing, jonathan rea, leon haslam, ben spies, eugene laverty, anthony west, andrew pitt, kenan sofuogulu, honda, yamaha

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Finally after what seems like a very long winter we have bike racing back. This weekend see the first round of the 2009 Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia.

The top 15 are only separated by 1 secondand the racing is only set to get closer as the riders learn their new machines.

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Posted in: Bikes - Racing , Bikes  Tags: bikes, tom sykes, phillip island, leon haslam, wsb, superbikes, supersport, cal crutchlow, shane byrne, jonathan rea, tommy hill, racing

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