Haga returns to the top with race 1 win
Sunday, 27 September 2009 13:26 GMT
Noriyuki Haga won a nail-biting first Superbike race of the day, which kept the fans glued to their seats right until the chequered flag, the Japanese rider thus taking his first win since Kyalami in mid-May. Four laps from the flag Haga passed Biaggi, who had led since the start, to take the win. Thanks to this result Haga cuts the gap to championship leader Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) to just six points, with the American only finishing fourth. There was a terrific scrap for the runner-up slot, which went to Biaggi after the Aprilia rider passed Fabrizio at the final chicane. Marco Simoncelli's WSB debut was an unfortunate one, the Italian crashing while in fifth. That place in the end went to a competitive Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who finished ahead of fellow Honda riders Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate), the latter throwing any chance of a decent result away when he went onto the gravel at the Rivazza while trying to overtake. Broc Parkes was the first Kawasaki runner home in tenth, ahead of Troy Corser (BMW).
