RACE 2: BIAGGI FIGHTS FOR THE PODIUM TO THE END, NAKANO FINISHES IN TWELFTH PLACE
Race 2 of the first round of the SBK on the Australian circuit of Phillip Island took place under more stable weather conditions and with a grey sky still looming above, but the probability of rain unlikely, race officials declared it a dry race and therefore, in the event that it would begin to rain, the new flag-to-flag rule would have been enforced.?The passionate Australian public was able to watch an exciting Race 2, which saw drivers battling it out up until the very last metre. Vince Spies who also won yesterday’s Superpole, was the top finisher, 1:286 ahead of Haga’s Ducati and 4:312 ahead of Haslam’s Honda.?Biaggi finished in fifteenth place with a star’s race. Max, who started off well from second position, immediately took the lead and after a few curves he was in the lead along with Spies and Haga. The three drivers tried to break away, with the American and the Japanese drivers vying for first place, and they managed to place a fair amount of distance between the other drivers. The race went on this way up until the fourteenth lap with the two leaders battling it out for first place and Max glued right behind them; in the following lap Fabrizio managed to catch up to the lead group and began to battle it out with Biaggi, who he passed three laps later. The race became even more intense during the final three laps with the arrival of Haslam and Laconi. Just a few curves from the end, however, in order to avoid hitting two of his competitors after they made contact, Biaggi ended up in the gravel, re-entered the race and finished in fifteenth place.?Instead, it was a twelfth place finish for Nakano who began well this time, unlike during the first rounds, and immediately set off to take over the leading positions, continuing to battle Neukirchner, Rea, Smrz and Kagayama for sixth place. Halfway through the race, Shinya began to lose ground because of irregular wear and tear on his rear tire, and he was passed by Sykes and Xaus during the last lap.??

"I’m quite satisfied,” declared Biaggi. “We had a good race, using a different, softer tire, risking a lot and knowing that it would only last for half of the race. In fact, during the last ten laps, the tires were worn out and I did everything I could to fight for a place atop the podium up until the very end. During the last lap, at the Siberia curve, the two who were in front of me made contact and they took some strange trajectories. I sped up so I wouldn’t hit them, but I had to brake and I ended up in the gravel. There’s not much space there and I stopped on the tire barrier. Fortunately I managed to keep the motorcycle running, re-enter and finish the race, taking home at least one point, even though I certainly deserved more. We still have some problems to resolve, but I don’t exclude the possibility that it may occur quickly. I would like to see how the bike handles when it will be 100%, considering its potential, but I have a lot of faith in Aprilia technicians, and it was also for this reason that I decided to return here after so many years.”??“I started off well, arriving in sixth position,” said Nakano. “We mounted another tire and the chattering diminished significantly. Halfway through the race, the tires were worn down and I couldn’t push as much as at the beginning, so I slipped back into twelfth place. We must improve the engine set because when the grip decreases, it becomes difficult to handle the motorcycle’s power. The positive aspect is that when the feeling is good, I can say in the lead to battle it out for first place.” ?
RACE 1: BIAGGI FINISHES IN ELEVENTH PLACE, ONE POINT FOR NAKANO
Everyone was concerned about the weather at Philip Island for Race 1 of the Australian round of the SBK. The sky was as grey as lead with rain falling intermittently and the unpredictable weather forced the race officials to declare Race 1 a Wet Race at the end of the warm-up laps, despite the fact that the track was still dry. Fortunately it didn’t rain and the Japanese driver, Haga, on the Xerox team’s Factory Ducati, sprinted to the lead with a 32 thousandths of a second advantage over Neukichner, Suzuki Alstare, and Kagayama’s other Suzuki at 5:347.?Max Biaggi finished in eleventh place at 12:609. After a good start the Roman driver fell behind the leaders because of contact during the third lap that forced him into ninth position. He then fell back one more spot when Checa managed to pass him. Max began to find a good pace and recover during the ninth lap, along with Skykes, moving up from the rear against his competitors who were in the lead up until the last lap, when four drivers battled it out for eighth place in a sprint that saw Corser manage to maintain position against Smrz, Skyes and Biaggi himself.?Instead, after a rough start Nakano came in at number fifteen, never managing to find the right pace, conducting the entire race on the edge of the points zone.??“We can confirm the same feeling we had during the test runs,” declared Biaggi. “In fact, with the hard racing tyres, where you need a very stable bike when you enter the curves, we suffer from strong vibrations at the back end of the bike; therefore I have a hard time going into the curve and consequently opening up the gas when I need it. The motorcycle is still very nervous and I have to work hard to maintain the rhythm of the first ones and in any case, I face a lot more risks than the others. Eleventh place is a bit disappointing for us and we’re going to make some changes to the bike now. I’m not certain that we’ll do any better in the second round.”??“I didn’t start off well,” said Nakano. “And I fell back quite a few spots. I tried to recover, but the bike had a lot of chattering at the back and this prevented me from pushing the limit. Moreover, during the final laps it became very difficult to manage to control the motorcycle, so I was forced to lose a point. The colder weather with respect to the last few days penalized me a bit because I couldn’t choose the tire I wanted. I hope the track has warmed up a bit now and that the changes we’ll make to the bike will improve the situation, at least in part.” ?
SUPERPOLE: BIAGGI IN SECOND PLACE; NAKANO FINISHES NINTH
The first Superpole of the 2009 season has arrived and the rules have changed completely compared to past editions. Rather than a single round, now there is a formula which is much like the one used in F1 races. The top twenty finishers from the official trials participate in the Superpole 1 and the sixteen best times move on to the Superpole 2. Finally, the top eight drivers compete in the first two battle lines of the Superpole 3. Each of the three rounds lasts twelve minutes and the drivers are only allowed to use two tires for the qualifying round and two for the competition round. Ben Spies, on a Yamaha Factory, won the first Superpole of the season with a time of 1:31:069.?Max Biaggi conquered the second-place position, stopping the clock at 1:31:402, just 0:333 behind the Texan. Max closed out the Superpole 1 in seventh position with a time of 1:32:345, using competition tires and then placed fifth in the Superpole 2 with a time of 1:31:617, with the first set of available qualifying tires.?Shinya Nakano will start off from ninth position in tomorrow’s first race, thanks to his time of 1:31:843, which he achieved on competition tires. The Japanese driver missed out on qualifying for the Superpole 3 by just 68 thousandths of a second, and he placed sixth in the first round with a finishing time of 1:32:264, using qualifying tires.??"This Superpole is very exciting,” declared Biaggi. “You’re never sure of the outcome until the very end. You’re always on the razor’s edge. We were all very fast, with Spies and Laconi we managed to beat the record from the Bayliss circuit and it is really satisfying to start off so far ahead. This Superpole was a bit turbulent, the motorcycle I had chosen gave me some problems during the last minutes of the warm-up laps, and I had to use another bike that I didn’t really like, so we created a combination, adapting the frame from the first to the second, and fortunately the result was good. Perhaps in tomorrow’s race we will have more problems than the others because the RSV4 is still in is development and growth phase and it won’t be easy to choose the most suitable tires for the race. I’ll give it my all, 100%, and try to find a good rhythm starting from the very first laps. I would like to thank my team for the excellent job they are doing as well as everyone who has believed in this project and who pushed for my return to Aprilia. I will try to pay them back with the best possible results.”??“This new Superpole formula is a real adrenaline rush,” said Nakano. “It’s new for all of us. You always need to be on high alert and have a good strategy. There was a lot of traffic in the Superpole 1 and I was at the back of the qualifying line, so we decided to use qualifying tires. Then we only used the competition tires and in the last seconds, the qualification slipped away by a few thousandths of a second. I’m satisfied because this weekend we managed to continue to grow and we are also quite competitive. The important thing for tomorrow’s race will be to start off well and set a good pace. For the first time, I’ll be competing in two races on the same day. They’re shorter with respect to the MotoGP, but much more difficult to manage and you begin to push the limit right from the start.”?
SBK: FIRST QUALIFYING SESSION AT PHILLIP ISLAND
After a long wait, it is finally time to take to the track in Australia at the Phillip Island circuit for the first round of the Superbike 2009 season. The first qualifying session was held today, a veritable trial by fire after the practicing over the past week, in which the riders were finally all given the chance to measure up against one another face to face. The best lap was set by Smrz on the team Guandalini Ducati, but the field proved to be very evenly matched, with the top fifteen riders all within a second. The sixth fastest time of 1 min 32.928 sec set by Shynja Nakano was just 0.616 seconds behind the quickest lap by the Czech rider. The Japanese rider concentrated on finding a race rhythm with worn tyres, and continued to seem more at ease with the bike – a class that is completely new territory for him. Eleventh place went to Biaggi who stopped the clock at 1 min 32.995 sec, 0.683 seconds behind Smrz. Max is continuing to develop the relatively new RSV4, which still has a few teething problems concerning vibration, especially when entering curves.
"These two sessions were very exciting for me – said Nakano – it is my first real debut in the class and the first time that I’ve ridden together with all the other riders. In the practice session this morning we didn’t do too badly, while in the qualifying session we focused on finding a race rhythm with worn tyres and were getting good results. Then we fitted new rubber and set the sixth fastest time straight away. We are all very close and sixth place proves that we are pretty competitive. The bike still isn't completely sorted and the situation hasn’t changed much since practicing, but we know that we’ll be getting new material over the next races.”
“Looking at the time alone, things didn’t go badly – said Biaggi – but compared with the practice sessions the situation obviously hasn’t radically changed, but we knew that that would have been impossible. We still have the same big problem when setting up for curves, vibration at the back of the bike makes the wheel skip, which makes braking very difficult. We still have lots of work to do, although there have been some improvements – for example, the bike’s power delivery is becoming much smoother and more manageable.”