If you enjoyed reading this article, please
click here to view it on Kropotkin's site, MotoGP Matters.
-----------------
So far this year, the World Superbike races have followed an almost clockwork pattern: If
Noriyuki Haga doesn't win the race, then the man chosen as
Troy Bayliss' heir apparent at Xerox Ducati comes second to
Ben Spies. And if the Yamaha Motor Italia rider doesn't win, then he either comes second to Haga or is involved in some bizarre incident which sees the American crash out or finish out of the points. With Haga and Spies having dominated the races so completely so far this year, the World Superbike paddock arrived at Monza expecting little to change.
Haga's team mate
Michel Fabrizio had other ideas, though. The Italian was quickest in every session of practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday and was clearly the man to beat. Only another masterful qualifying performance during Superpole saw Ben Spies take his 5th pole in a row, a feat never before equaled in any form of motorcycle racing. With Haga only qualifying on the second row, the Japanese/American stranglehold on race wins looked like being broken for the first time at Monza.
Monza's notorious first chicane wreaked havoc at the start of the first Superbike race. Someone, most probably
Makoto Tamada, clipped the back of
Brendan Roberts' Guandalini Ducati as the bikes braked for the chicane, pushing the Australian off track and onto the grass, which flung him off the bike. His bike then slid onto the track and into the Suzuki of
Max Neukirchner, breaking the German's femur and dislocating his foot, and putting the likable Neukirchner out of action for at least four weeks. Elsewhere in the mayhem,
Troy Corser and
Tommy Hill came together, flipping both Hill's Honda and Corser's BMW up in the air, causing Hill's CBR1000RR to catch fire.
read more
