First thing, if you didn’t see WSBK Race 1 at Assen, I suggest that you find it, beg for it or steal it, because it’s going to become a race classic and it has to been seen.
If you don’t live in one of those countries that has a broadcasting agreement and are on the black list, you can see Race 1 highlights here.
Ben Spies took his fourth WSBK win of the season , snatching the lead from Noriyuki Haga in the final lap.
The impressivemoves came three turns from the flag, diving up the inside the Ducati Xerox rider, leaving Haga behind a mere 0,0154 at the finish line.
Third place went to a fantastic Leon Haslam, who besides breaking the lap record made Spies and Haga work hard.
Fourth place for the other Yamaha rider Tom Sykes, the British rider finishing ahead of Max Biaggi who lost time battling out with a slower Michel Fabrizio.
Sixth place went to Jakub Smrz on a private Ducati, 7th for Jonathan Rea, while Michel Fabrizio managed eighth with the factory Ducati.
Regis Laconi 9th also on a private Ducati.
Troy Corser 10th on the new BMW, Max Neukirchner finished 13th after crashing out from second place and then rejoining.
Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) also crashed out while trying to catch up after a poor start.
Results SBK Assen Race 1:1.
Ben Spies, Yamaha YZF-R1, 22 laps, 36:31.
3382.
Noriyuki Haga, Ducati 1098 F09, -0.
154 second3.
Leon Haslam, Honda CBR1000RR, -0.
779 second4.
Tom Sykes, Yamaha YZF-R1, -8.
775 seconds5.
Max Biaggi, Aprilia RSV4 Factory, -11.
2756.
Jakub Smrz, Ducati 1098R, -16.
1267.
Jonathan Rea, Honda CBR1000RR, -19.
5558.
Regis Laconi, Ducati 1098R, -19.
7609.
Michel Fabrizio, Ducati 1098 F09, -23.
00610.
Troy Corser, BMW S1000RR, -24.
28511.
Shane Byrne, Ducati 1098R, -26.
00312.
Karl Muggeridge, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -27.
81413.
Max Neukirchner, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -36.
96214.
Ruben Xaus, BMW S1000RR, -39.
02515.
Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda CBR1000RR, -41.
505Race 2Noriyuki Haga won his fourth race of the season and added a futher 25 points to his championship standings and now leads in the championship with 180 points, a massive 60 points ahead of second place Spies.
The outcome was decided on lap 2 when Spies winner of Race 1 crashed while in the lead.
The Xerox Ducati rider was left virtually with an unchallenged run to the flag the year pulling away from the pack with a 4 second lead and the slowing down to win by 2.
6 seconds.
Leon Haslam placed second place in race 2, and getting to the podium again after holding off Michel Fabrizio who seemed to be heading to third place, but in the final turns on the last lap broke his gearbox and managed to finish a very frustrating fourth while third place went to Jakub Smrz who got his first ever podium.
Fifth went to Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) who got the better of fellow Briton Tom Sykes.
Carlos Checa 7th.
Shane Byrne, Alstare Suzuki’s Max Neukirchner and Troy Corser rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Max Biaggi’s Aprilia had a clutch problem on the opening lap and had to head back to his garage while fellow team mate Shinya Nakano failed to t start after his crash in race 1 in which he damaged his previously operated on shoulder.
Results SBK Assen Race 21.
Noriyuki Haga, Ducati 1098 F09, 22 laps, 36:31.
7122.
Leon Haslam, Honda CBR1000RR, -2.
678 seconds3.
Jakub Smrz, Ducati 1098R, -4.
6034.
Michel Fabrizo, Ducati 1098 F09, -8.
9815.
Jonathan Rea, Honda CBR1000RR, -12.
1046.
Tom Sykes, Yamaha YZF-R1, -14.
5757.
Carlos Checa, Honda CBR1000RR, -17.
4498.
Shane Byrne, Ducati 1098R, -17.
7299.
Max Neukirchner, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -18.
16710.
Troy Corser, BMW S1000RR, -25.
05611.
Ruben Xaus, BMW S1000RR, -32.
61712.
Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -32.
68813.
Brendan Roberts, Ducati 1098R, -37.
41514.
Matteo Baiocco, Kawasaki ZX-10R, -55.
08815.
Luca Scassa, Kawasaki ZX-10R, -55.
325