Biaggi sweeps World Superbike races

From worldsbk.com

In front of 77.000 people, Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) won each 22-lap World Superbike race at Portimao on Sunday to go second in the championship rankings behind the rider who took two second places, Leon Haslam (Alstare Suzuki). Haslam now has 85 points, Biaggi 69.

The margin of victory for Biaggi was 0.200 secs. in race one, and 0.191 secs. in race two, as Biaggi took his career win total to six. It was his first SBK double win, having started the race second on the grid.

"It is great to get my first double win in World Superbike," Biaggi said. "The feeling is great and the first double win of anybody this year so I feel confident and we are in a good rhythm. We go to Valencia next and we will ask very much of ourselves there as well.

"We had good speed down the straight today but if you saw how fast we could exit the last corner then you would know it was not just the engine. Our bike is fast but other bikes are also fast."

Biaggi held off Haslam for the race one win but only after a strong man-to-man fight throughout. Jonathan Rea went third for Hannspree Ten Kate Honda when Cal Crutchlow fell off his Sterilgarda Yamaha late in the race, remounting to go 14th.

Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) had to work hard to keep Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia) behind as he scored fourth place. Shane Byrne (Althea Ducati) rode through the pain of a big crash on Saturday to take sixth.

Noriyuki Haga recovered from his fifth row start to take eighth and the first BMW Motorrad machine home belonged to Troy Corser, ninth.

In race two a close four-rider fight for the win went to Biaggi again from Haslam, who was not quite able to overtake Biaggi and make it stick, as Max used his superior drive out of the final corner to pass the Suzuki when it mattered.

Crutchlow scored his second career SBK podium, and his first as a series regular, running his Yamaha to third. Checa was fourth - and only 1.015 secs. covered the top four after another tense race.

In the championship Haslam leads with 85 points, Biaggi is second on 69 and Checa third with 60.

"I was trying everything to pass Max and in race two I timed it so I could be in the lead with a few laps to go and make a break, but Max came back past me on the straight," Haslam said. "It was hard racing today from lap one right to the end.

"We got two podiums and although I was disappointed not to get another win, we are still leading the championship. That puts a smile back on my face."

In each race there were four different manufacturers in the top four - Aprilia, Suzuki, Honda and Ducati in race one, and Aprilia, Suzuki, Yamaha and Ducati in race two.

It was only last October that the previous Portimao round was run, but in those short months the progress has been amazing. Race one was 16 seconds faster than it's equivalent in October and race two was 13 seconds faster this year compared to last.

Kenan Sofuoglu (Ten Kate Honda) won a thrilling Supersport race by 0.031 secs. from Joan Lascorz (Motocard.com Kawasaki) and Sofuoglu's team-mate Michele Pirro.

Long time leader Eugene Laverty was caught and passed by both Sofuoglu and Lascorz with a few laps left to run and soon after lost the front, falling but restarting to finish 11th.

Chas Davies (ParkinGO Triumph BE1) was fourth on his three-cylinder machine.

After the second round, Sofuoglu leads the championship, 41 points to Lascorz' 40. Laverty has 30 points in third.

The arrival in Superstock 1000 of the BMW S1000RR was an immediately successful one, as Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) took the win after race long rival Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Racing Junior) ran off track and lost 2.5 seconds on the final lap.

Superbike Race 1 Results
1. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 37:59.283 (159.562 km/h)
2. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +0.200
3. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR +6.901
4. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R +7.457
5. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. +7.564
6. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R +11.420
7. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF-R1 +18.391
8. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R +18.536
9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR +24.514
10. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR +32.427
11. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R +35.045
12. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R +36.816
13. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +36.841
14. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF-R1 +44.678
15. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R +44.942
16. Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR +59.135
17. Morais S. (RSA) Honda CBR1000RR +59.852
18. Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-10R +1:00.097
19. Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R +1:10.151
20. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R
RET Pitt A. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR
RET Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R
RET Tamada M. (JPN) BMW S1000 RR
RET Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR

Superbike Race 2 Results
1. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 38:06.128 (159.084 km/h)
2. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +0.191
3. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF-R1 +0.658
4. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R +1.015
5. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. +3.123
6. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF-R1 +9.131
7. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R +11.033
8. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R +13.452
9. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +13.964
10. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR +16.377
11. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R +26.351
12. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR +27.964
13. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R +33.566
14. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R +33.823
15. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR +37.372
16. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R +45.611
17. Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-10R +56.512
18. Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R +58.980
19. Tamada M. (JPN) BMW S1000 RR +1:15.819
20. Pitt A. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR +1:41.672
RET Morais S. (RSA) Honda CBR1000RR
RET Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R
RET Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR
RET Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR

World Superbike Point Standings
1. Leon Haslam (Suzuki) 85
2. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 69
3. Carlos Checa (Ducati) 60
4. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) 46
5. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) 43
6. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 39
7. Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki) 33
8. Leon Camier (Aprilia) 32
9. Troy Corser (BMW) 29
10. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) 25
11. James Toseland (Yamaha) 25
12. Shane Byrne (Ducati) 25
13. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) 15
14. Ruben Xaus (BMW) 10
15. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) 8
16. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 7
17. Max Neukirchner (Honda) 5
18. Joshua Brookes (Honda) 2
19. Andrew Pitt (BMW) 2