Tough 'Miller Time' for Haga

Points leader Noriyuki Haga, who had difficulty finding the right feeling with his Xerox Ducati during the Miller weekend, closed the two races in ninth and eighth position. In the first race the Japanese rider, still very sore from Saturday's crash, found it difficult to make progress but held strong to come home in a valiant ninth position. In the second race he made a change to his bike's setting but unfortunately it did not make a great difference to the feeling he had. Although he held third place for a few laps at the start, he was gradually overtaken by various riders including team-mate Fabrizio and concluded the 21-lap race in eighth position. In the championship standings, Noriyuki continues to hold the lead though with a slightly diminished advantage of 265 points over American Spies who has 212.

"I did not have a very good feeling with my bike in Race 1" claimed Haga. "It was very hot out there and I can't say I was having an easy time. We changed the setting a little for the second race but I still wasn't able to fight for the podium despite the fact that it was only a few seconds out of grasp. Unfortunately many riders were just stronger than me today. I am not 100% of course after my crash yesterday and I didn't expect to win here today but I am happy to have taken points all the same, important points for the championship. I'll get back in shape before Misano where I want to be back fighting for the win."