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Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) clinched his fifth win this year with a commanding performance in race 1 at Kyalami. After two days of being slightly overshadowed by his main rivals, the points leader came good in the race and from the mid-point onwards ran towards the chequered flag with ease. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) and Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) had to settle for the other two podium slots, in that order, after a mid-race battle that was decided when the American made a slight mistake, his foot slipping off the pegs. From that point on the runner-up slot was Fabrizio's. Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) had quite a scrap for fourth place, with the British rider getting the nod over the Italian. Biaggi once again showed he had the speed and the pace to fight for the podium, but he lost contact with the leading trio when he was stuck behind Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) for a couple of laps, the Spaniard eventually finishing sixth overall. Shinya Nakano took the second Aprilia to a positive seventh place ahead of Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare), while BMW had a race to forget, with Ruben Xaus crashing out and Steve Martin the final finisher.