2008 Season So Far
Round 1: Qatar, Losail // February 22/23
Bayliss takes victory in season opener, Nieto takes maiden race win
The HANNspree SBK Superbike World Championship kicked off once again at Qatar and it was Troy Bayliss who took the new Xerox Ducati 1098 to the opening victory of the season at its debut event. In the second race it was Alstare Suzuki’s Fonsi Nieto who took his first ever WSB race win on his debut for the squad.
Race One
Troy Bayliss took the opening win of the season, recovering after a bad start that dropped him back through the pack at the beginning of the race. He was able to win the battle at the front between himself and Max Biaggi to take 25 points with pole sitter Troy Corser taking third. Noriyuki Haga had a disastrous start to his season, crashing out of the race the after taking his hand off the handlebar in frustration at a move by Max Biaggi causing him to high-side out of fourth place. He picked the bike up out of the gravel but finished the race in 14th place.
Race Two
Alstare Suzuki's Fonsi Nieto took his maiden WSB win, whilst Bayliss missed out on the podium. The Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati 1098s of Ruben Xaus and Max Biaggi took second and third respectively. Fonsi Nieto had held off the challenge from Ruben Xaus in the final two laps to take the win whilst race one winner Troy Bayliss on the Xerox Ducati was fourth ahead of his team-mate Michel Fabrizio.
HANNspree Superbike World Championship standings after round one:
1. Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) 38
2. Max Biaggi (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati) 36
3. Fonsi Nieto (Alstare Suzuki) 34
Round 2: Phillip Island, Australia // March 1/2
Bayliss the Wizard of Oz with double dose of wins
Troy Bayliss took a double win in front of his home crowd for the last time in his WSB career, with the determined Xerox Ducati ace dominating proceedings. The final podium places were shared between Troy Corser, Michel Fabrizio, Carlos Checa and Fonsi Nieto. Max Biaggi crashed out of both races, with the second high-speed off leaving the Sterilgarda Ducati rider with a broken wrist.
Race One
The opening WSB race of the day was restarted when Michel Fabrizio stalled his Xerox Ducati on the grid and the stricken rider was hit by Iannuzzo, who was taken to hospital with a wrist fracture.
On the restart Troy Bayliss led from the opening lap, determined to leave the circuit with a double win on his final visit, to finish ahead of fellow Australian Troy Corser on the Yamaha Motor Italia machine ahead, followed by Michel Fabrizio who was able to make the restart on the second of the Xerox Ducatis. Noriyuki Haga was unable to get his first podium of the season, suffering from a tyre problem.
Race Two
Troy Corser looked set to take his first victory of the season, leading the first four laps before crashing out, leaving Troy Bayliss to take the lead. Behind the Xerox Ducati there was a three-way Spanish scrap for the final podium places between Fonsi Nieto, Ruben Xaus and Carlos Checa for second. It was Checa, in his debut WSB season, that took second giving the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda squad their first podium of the season, with Fonsi Nieto in third.
HANNspree World Superbike Championship standings after round two:
1. Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) 88
2. Fonsi Nieto (Alstare Suzuki) 34
3. Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati) 59
Round 3: Valencia, Spain // April 5/6
Lanzi and Haga share Spanish spoil
RG Ducati’s Lorenzo Lanzi and Yamaha Motor Italia’s Noriyuki Haga took a win apiece in Valencia, witnessed by a record-breaking crowd. Carlos Checa and Max Neukirchner were involved in a controversial last lap incident in the opening race that saw the Alstare Suzuki rider forced to sit out of the second race of the day with a broken left collarbone.
Race One
It was a Spanish showdown at the front, with Carlos Checa and Max Neukirchner duelling for supremacy for the home crowd. The German Alstare Suzuki rider led from the start until the final corner when Checa tried to make a pass down the inside, but crashed out sending both riders tumbling out of contention. Neukirchner suffered a broken collarbone from the accident whilst Checa was able to rejoin and finish in fifth. The win was handed to Lorenzo Lanzi with Troy Corser taking another podium in third. Noriyuki Haga suffered another non-points score after crashing out.
Race Two
Noriyuki Haga finally took his first race win of the season after passing then defending the lead from the hard-charging Troy Bayliss who took another podium for the Xerox Ducati team. Carlos Checa had been the race leader in the opening stages but he was then to suffer from an electrical problem. Reigning British Superbike champion Ryuichi Kiyonari took his best finish so far in his debut season for the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team in fourth.
HANNspree World Superbike Championship standings after round three:
1. Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) 128
2. Fonsi Nieto (Alstare Suzuki) 80
3. Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 72
= Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) 72
Round 4: Assen, Netherlands // April 26/27
Dutch double for Bayliss
Championship leader Troy Bayliss powered his Xerox Ducati to his second double win of the year at Assen, edging him further ahead of his closest rivals.
Race One
Troy Bayliss took his fifth race win of the season in the opening race of the day. Carlos Checa was able to give the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda squad a podium at their home round, just ahead of Max Neukirchner. Noriyuki Haga had clashed early in the race with Sterilgarda Go Eleven’s Ruben Xaus, with both crashing out of the race.
Race Two
Troy Bayliss was back on the top step of the podium in race two, leading from the start to the chequered flag, despite the threat of Noriyuki Haga chasing him all the way to the finish. Carlos Checa was able to make it a double podium, by ending the race in third, passing Ruben Xaus on the final lap.
HANNspree World Superbike Championship standings after round four:
1. Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) 178
2. Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 108
3. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) 89
Round 5: Monza, Italy // May 10/11
Neukirchner and Haga magical in Monza
Alstare Suzuki’s Max Neukirchner and Yamaha Motor Italia’s Noriyuki Haga took a win each at the Italian round of the Championship at Monza after a pair of thrilling races.
Race One
Max Neukirchner became the first German rider in WSB history to win a race after edging out Noriyuki Haga on the sprint to the finish with just 0.058s separating the pair. Championship leader Troy Bayliss took the final podium place for the Xerox Ducati team, despite a late attack from Yukio Kagayama.
Race Two
Noriyuki Haga was victorious to take his second win of the season onboard the Yamaha Motor Italia machine narrowly beating race one victor Max Neukirchner to the finish by just 0.009s. However the pair were nearly edged out by reigning BSB champion Ryuichi Kiyonari who was leading a WSB race for the first time on the final lap. Troy Bayliss suffered from an engine problem which forced him out of the race, and he wasn’t the only retirement with Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi also forced to score no points.
HANNspree World Superbike Championship standings after round five:
1. Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) 194
2. Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 116
3. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) 112
Round 6: Miller Motorsports Park, USA // May 31/June 1
Checa closes in on luckless Bayliss
Carlos Checa took his first WSB victory on the championships’ first visit to the Amercian circuit, whilst Troy Bayliss had his worst weekend of the season, failing to score any championship points.
Race One
Carlos Checa took his maiden WSB victory at Miller Motorsports Park for the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team, giving them their first victory this season. Championship leader Troy Bayliss led from the start, but was passed by Max Neukirchner and then by pole sitter Carlos Checa just a lap later. But on lap five the Xerox Ducati ace high-sided out of the race and on the same lap Haga also crashed out. Carlos Checa edged away to victory from Troy Corser and Michel Fabrizio.
Race Two
Carlos Checa doubled up on race victories and closed the advantage on championship leader Troy Bayliss, who failed to finish the second race in a points-scoring position. Bayliss suffered a technical problem that saw him retire, making this the first round the former champion has not scored points. Ruben Xaus crashed out on the Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati and Troy Corser was another faller, crashing out of third place. Michel Fabrizio was third for Xerox Ducati just behind Max Neukirchner on the Alstare Suzuki.
HANNspree World Superbike Championship standings after round six:
1. Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) 194
2. Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 166
3. Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki) 144
Round 7: Nürburgring, Germany // June 14/15
Haga’s double victory despite broken collarbone
Yamaha Motor Italia’s Noriyuki Haga scored a fantastic double win on WSB’s return to the German track for the first time in ten years. Just two weeks after breaking his collarbone in the USA, Haga fought off Bayliss to win race one, and then got the better of his team-mate Troy Corser in a rain-shortened second encounter to take the double. Max Neukirchner took two thirds in front of his home crowd.
Race 1
Haga got the better of a determined Bayliss, who tried to pass him back until a couple of laps from the flag before making a mistake. Third place went to local hero Neukirchner, who held off Corser. Carlos Checa got a bad start but made a good recovery to pass Ruben Xaus for fifth place on the final lap.
Race 2
Haga took his second win of the day and his first double of the year. The race was stopped with five laps remaining while Corser was in the lead but the previous lap's classification stands and so the win went to Haga. Third place again went to Neukirchner, ahead of Bayliss, who actually managed to increase his points lead in the table. Checa scored another fifth place, after holding off the three Ducatis of Michel Fabrizio, Max Biaggi and Ruben Xaus.
HANNspree World Superbike Championship standings after round seven:
1. Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) 227
2. Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 188
3. Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki) 176
Round 8: Misano, San Marino // June 28/29
Neukirchner and Xaus magnificent in Misano
Max Neukirchner took victory at his home race for the Alstare Suzuki team with the second win of the day going to Sterligarda Go Eleven’s Ruben Xaus at Misano. With two third places, Troy Bayliss increases his lead in the championship to 49 points.
Race 1
Neukirchner grabbed the win in the first race to take his second victory of the year. After playing a waiting game in the early laps, the German stepped up the pace in the second part of the race to catch and pass Xaus and Troy Corser, who went on to finish fourth and second respectively. Third place after an inconsistent run went to Bayliss.
Race 2
The second race of the day saw a sensational and unexpected 1-2 win for the Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati team. The 25 points went to Ruben Xaus, who took his first win of the year, ahead of Max Biaggi, who capitalised on a mistake by Bayliss to grab second. Fourth and fifth went to the two Yamahas of Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser, with Nitro-Nori making amends for his disappointing race one.
HANNspree World Superbike Championship standings after round eight
1. Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) 259
2.
Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki) 210
3.
Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 207
Round 9: Brno, Czech Republic // July 19/20
Bayliss back to winning form
Troy Bayliss returned to the top step of the podium after a gap of eight races with a dominant double victory at the Brno. The round also saw great performances by his team-mate Michel Fabrizio, twice on the podium, and by Max Biaggi who was third in race two, while Troy Corser was strong in both races.
Race 1
After starting from pole, Bayliss took the lead on lap 12 and then powered to the chequered flag. Second place went to Corser after a great race in which he kept Bayliss under pressure until the final stages. The final podium place went to Fabrizio, who passed Biaggi on the last lap after an exciting duel with his fellow Italian. Ryuichi Kiyonari brought the first Honda home in fifth place. Noriyuki Haga managed to salvage a good result with sixth place after a difficult two days, finishing ahead of two other riders fighting for the title, Max Neukirchner and Carlos Checa.
Race 2
Bayliss took another victory in the second race of the day at Brno, on a track that has always proved to be difficult for Ducati in the past. The Australian has now increased his championship lead to 79 points over Neukirchner who was fifth. Fabrizio and Biaggi put on a terrific battle for the runner-up slot, which eventually went to the Xerox team rider with another passing move on the last lap. Fourth went to Corser, after the Australian had led for the first half of the race, and Kiyonari again had another good run to finish sixth. Checa retired with a mechanical problem, while Haga finished in seventh place after starting from the pit lane.
HANNspree Superbike World Championship standings after round nine:
1. Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) 309
2. Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki) 230
3. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) 218
4. Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 215
5. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) 210