[kropotkin thinks...] - 2009 Misano World Superbikes And World Supersport Race Report

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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The World Superbike circus came to Misano on Italy's Adriatic coast hoping for sun, sea and speed, but this weekend, they got plenty more than that. The heat and humidity was scorching on Friday, turning showery on Saturday, only to start with a downpour on race day.

The rain had fallen heavily all morning, but as the riders headed out at noon for race 1, the rain had just about stopped and the World Superbike series was set to see the first time its flag-to-flag rules would be put into effect. The dash into the pits to swap bikes always guarantees plenty of spectacle, but the action started even before the race had gotten underway. Johnny Rea's Ten Kate Honda developed a fueling glitch on the sighting lap, and the Ulsterman was forced to hitch a lift back to the pits from his team mate, Ryuichi Kiyonari, an act which would cost them both a ride-through penalty later on, and forced Rea to start from pit lane. Then on the warm up lap, an electronics glitch caused Troy Corser to flip his BMW S1000RR, ruling himself out of the race before it had even started.

When the red lights did finally dim it was Shane Byrne who led into Turn 1, taking Jakub Smrz and Ben Spies with him. Byrne, who has had a difficult year so far on the Sterilgarda Ducati, was clearly in his element in the wet, and was rapidly heading off into the distance. By the end of the first lap, the reigning British Superbike champion had a lead of over 2 seconds which had grown to nearly 17 seconds by the halfway mark.

Behind Byrne, Jakub Smrz was also at ease in the wet conditions, not able to match Shakey's blistering pace but faster than those that followed, leaving Ben Spies and Michel Fabrizio trailing in his wake. Spies was clearly less comfortable in the wet conditions, Fabrizio quickly getting past the Texan in the very wet early laps, but as the track started to dry, the Texan picked up his pace and got back on the tail of the Xerox Ducati.

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