Round 5 - Monza

[DooberRoni]

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Here's what happened last year
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[ÜberDoober]

Spies 2nd fast in practice behind Fabrizio and an eye blink ahead of teammate Sykes.

Doesn't look like first qualifying went so well for our boy Ben? Zemke in 25th.

SUPERBIKE FIRST QUALIFYING SESSION
POS NO. RIDER BIKE TIME
1 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'45.447
2 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'45.758
3 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'45.790
4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'45.919
5 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'45.962
6 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'45.985
7 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'46.013
8 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'46.054
9 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'46.140
10 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'46.164
11 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'46.171
12 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'46.208
13 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'46.363
14 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'46.545
15 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'46.565
16 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'46.566
17 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'46.690
18 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'47.078
19 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'47.220
20 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'47.317
21 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'47.362
22 98 Zemke J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'47.751
23 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'47.955
24 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'47.963
25 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'48.284
26 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 1'48.667
27 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1'48.920
28 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'48.981
29 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'49.119

[ÜberDoober]

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From a Yamaha Press Release:

Qualifying Report 1
Sykes shines in Monza

Yamaha World Superbike rider Tom Sykes gave a tantalizing glimpse of his race pace today in the first qualifying session at the historic Monza circuit. The British rider put in strong consistent fats laps for the duration of the session, ending it in second place, just over 0.3 seconds behind leader Michele Fabrizio. Sykes had been fast all day and had spent the morning and the qualifying session fine tuning the set up for the weekend's racing. He finished the morning 's free practice session in third place, just behind his team-mate.

Ben Spies was in equally reliable form in the Italian sunshine, focusing on tyre wear and race pace he ran consistent laps all day, finishing the afternoon's qualifying session in seventh position, less than 0.3 of a second off Sykes. The American rider spent the entire qualifying session on a single set of tyres to test the wear rate on the warm circuit. The morning's free practice session saw Spies predictably fast on a circuit he's coming to know well through testing, he finished the session second, less than 0.3 seconds behind the leader.

Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (2nd, 1'45.758)
"A fairly decent day to day to be honest, we came here with a big change from the test we had here which has taken a fair bit of balancing but I think we've done it. Overall I'm very happy with my race tyres, we're doing consistent fast laps over race distance so I'm confident in the team's ability and tomorrow I think we'll come out even stronger. I'm going to have a good sleep tonight and come back tomorrow with a fresh head and be even better!"

Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (7th, 1'46.013)
"It was a really good session for us. We pretty much found our race tyres , we only ran one set for the whole session and put in some really good lap times. We weren't really worried about fast lap times today, we just wanted to get consistent laps so we should be good for Sunday. It's an 18 lap race and our fastest lap today was the 22nd one so it's looking good. The bike's working really well so we'll step it up tomorrow and see what happens."

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"A good session for us, we were working to find the best set up for the race I think we're pretty ready. We've made no major changes from the previous test here, just some small changes to improve and fine tune. The race pace was good so we're satisfied, I think we are 90% there for Sunday."

[Gary]

Spies takes pole again - that is amazing.

[ÜberDoober]

Amazing indeed! Anybody's guess if it was a tuning issue in the earlier sessions or if Spies was not showing his hand? I'm hearing they might have to deal with rain tomorrow. That would suck.

Congrats Ben! 5 for 5! :thumbup1:

Monza Superbike - Superpole
Saturday, 09 May 2009

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'44.073
2 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'44.270
3 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'44.642
4 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'44.900
5 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'45.096
6 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'45.170
7 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'45.605
8 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'45.861
9 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'45.166
10 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'45.383
11 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'45.543
12 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'45.663
13 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'46.368
14 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'46.571
15 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'46.593
16 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'46.928
17 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'46.250
18 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'46.372
19 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'46.407
20 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'46.522
21 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'47.032
22 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 1'47.130
23 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'47.220
24 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'47.220
25 98 Zemke J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'47.751
26 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1'47.868
27 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'47.963
28 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'48.063
29 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'48.810

[ÜberDoober]

RACE 1 Results

Oh what rotten luck for Spies:

Fabrizio grabs maiden Superbike win

The first Superbike race of the day saw a thrilling end to one of the best races ever seen at Monza. The race had to have two starts, after two crashes at the first chicane of lap 1 involving Tamada, Hill, Corser, Neukirchner and Roberts led to it being interrupted. The German came off the worst with a broken right femur and dislocated right foot, while Roberts picked up various bruises.

The outcome of the race was decided at the final curve. Spies was well on his way towards a fifth win of the season when in the Parabolica his Yamaha ran out of fuel just a few metres from the line. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) capitalized on Spies' misfortune to take his first win in Sueprbike. Team-mate Noriyuki Haga finished second to maintain his points lead. The third place battle also saw a thrilling end as Max Biaggi took his Aprilia over the line, but the Italian was penalized 20 seconds for cutting the chicane, leaving Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda) to take the final podium position after a spectacular mid-race recovery from a poor start.

Monza Superbike - Race 1
Sunday, 10 May 2009

POS NO. RIDER BIKE TIME
1 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 31'50.758 (196,459 kph)
2 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 0.239
3 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 8.175
4 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 11.001
5 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 12.447
6 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 13.693
7 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 19.172
8 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 24.989
9 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 26.930
10 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 27.418
11 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 27.752
12 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 29.545
13 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 30.952
14 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 31.414
15 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 36.998
16 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 42.732
17 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 48.835
18 98 Zemke J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 48.888
19 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 50.612
20 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 51.706
21 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 55.510
22 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 58.214
23 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'01.130
24 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'16.850
RET 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR

[ÜberDoober]

Race 2 Results - SPIES!!!!

What a shame about race 1. I can't wait to watch the races later today on SPEED.

Spies takes race 2 win at Monza
Sunday, 10 May 2009 17:23

Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) immediately made amends in race 2 by dominating from start to finish. The Texan left everyone standing after just a few laps and went on to win his fifth race of the season. This win, together with the crash at the Parabolica on lap 3 of points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), who had been hit by a bird, keeps the championship battle wide open.

Monza Superbike - Race 2
Sunday, 10 May 2009

POS NO. RIDER BIKE TIME
1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 31'49.252 (196,614 kph)
2 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2.665
3 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 2.810
4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 7.706
5 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 7.863
6 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 10.383
7 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 11.586
8 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 21.112
9 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 22.112
10 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 22.261
11 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 23.453
12 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 32.956
13 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 37.166
14 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 43.085
15 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 43.088
16 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 43.825
17 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 53.211
18 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'00.917
19 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1'17.915
20 98 Zemke J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'28.545
21 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'29.016
RET 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R
NP 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR

[ÜberDoober]

I watched the races on SPEED today and was really impressed. Who knew Spies was as good as he seems to be? What great battles - what insane passes! What a heartbreaker in race 1 to run out of gas in the last freakin turn. Too bad there were some bad injuries this weekend. Haga's get off in race two was nasty but I was hoping to see the incident where he hit the bird.

Off to Kyalami next week! This is one of my favorite sim racing tracks so I'll be watching intently.

Here's Yamaha's wrap-up Press Release:

RACE REPORT 10/05/2009
Drama in Monza as Spies closes the championship gap

It was a dramatic race day in Monza today for the World Superbike Championship as Yamaha rider and pole position starter Ben Spies again suffered the two extremes of racing, the victory and victory snatched away. Race one only made it to the first chicane on lap 1 as the Superbikes compressed into the tight first chicane. Tamada fell just before the corner, his bike sliding down the grass and across the track, causing collisions with Corser, Hill, Roberts and Neukirchener in the ensuing carnage. A red flag was issued and the race restarted. The race then became a battle at the front between Haga, Fabrizio and Spies for the lead. By lap nine Spies had a one second advantage over the Ducatis as they fought for second, Fabrizio ending up the stronger and closing in.

Three laps from the end Fabrizio drafted Spies on the main straight to take the lead going into the first chicane, only for Spies to take it back on the penultimate lap. The Yamaha rider then led convincingly and was looking a certainty for the win until running out of fuel as he took the Parabolica corner for the last time heading for the start finish straight.He managed to coast to the line but was in 15th position by the time he passed the chequered flag. Team-mate Tom Sykes started well from tenth on the grid and was eighth by the end of the first lap. Consistent race pace saw him take two more positions over the duration, crossing the line in sixth to take more points.

Race two saw Spies hungry to make up the misfortune of race one. Off the line he slipped into second behind Haga briefly before moving into the lead when Haga was struck by a bird on the first corner. From this point his win was never in doubt as the Texan put his head down and laid down lap after lap of fast perfect lines, adding a second gap per lap between himself and second position Fabrizio. As the race tipped over halfway point Spies slowed to ensure the issue of race one was not repeated, taking the chequered flag over 2.6 seconds ahead of second placed Fabrizio.

British rider Sykes had another consistent race in the second outing of the day, moving up from tenth to sixth position, but was unable to find the extra pace to pass fifth placed Biaggi by the end of the race.

Ben Spies leaves Monza having closed the gap to championship leader Haga, he heads to Kyalami with 146 points, 54 behind the lead. Sykes heads to South Africa having moved up to fifth in the championship on 90 points and now trails Haslam by only 13.

Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (15th, 1st)
"Race one was a tough pill to swallow, it was a hard one to get by but that's racing I guess. Race two I had a clear strategy and made sure I got into a really good rhythm in the first 12 to 14 laps to build a safety buffer. Obviously we had a problem at the end of race one which I didn't want to repeat so slowed a bit there and short shifted a bit to make sure everything was good to the end. The bike was good and could have run fast times all the way through but I wanted to make sure we got this one in the bag. The Yamaha team did great regrouping after race one and me too I think! Hopefully we can keep going and improving from here. I want to say congratulations for Michel in race one, but I couldn't give it to him so easily in race two."

Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (6th, 6th)
"In race one I got away ok, but the problem was getting stuck in that first chicane as I was starting from row three. As soon as it bottled up everything got spread out and unfortunately the lead group spread a long way and was hard to catch. I got past a couple of people and to be honest I thought I was going to catch them but halfway through the race I suffered from some brake fading. It was very unfortunate. In race two I got off the line fairly decently and had good race pace, I was looking quite strong but not able to get that last little bit. I guess it was one of those weekends, I've been fairly fast and consistent but spoilt it a bit with the qualifying. I'm very confident in the bike and the team, especially for Kyalami and hope to have better memories after the race than when I tested there! All in all good weekend, two more scores on the board and moving up to fifth in the championship is great."

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"The first race was very frustrating for us but I think Ben proved what he is capable of. A big thank you to him because he answered race one in the best possible way. We seem to have either 25 points or 0 in races at the moment! I am very optimistic about the next two races because in South Africa Ben was really fast with an almost standard bike, and now we know the performance of the R1 is better so we think we can do a really good job. Miller should also be good as it's a home track for Ben. In the end we have reduced the leadership gap to Nori which is good. Tom was really consistent today, he's coming better and better every race weekend and without making mistakes in the race. I think as the second part of the championship approaches he will get stronger and stronger. A big thanks to the team and also the suppliers who helped us to be ready with the new colours in time for this weekend."

[Pablo]

That was an awesome race weekend for Ben, albeit the " no gas, ma" fiasco robbed him of another win. Bet the crew makes sure that doesn't happen again. Reprogram the fuel mapping , guys!
Yes, Uber, Ben has arrived in World Superbike ;-) I knew he was good, continually beating Mladin in the U.S. but I didn't realize just how ready he was for the big boys. I'm super impressed that he is able to arrive at tracks, new to him and be so fast.
Wouldn't be surprised to see him as Rossi's teammate someday.

[Gary]

Well said - I knew Spies was ready, but I didn't know he was THAT ready.