2009 WSB Portimao – race result
26-10-09 by Bracksy
Noriyuki Haga (Xerox Ducati) joined the world’s most unpopular riders’ club when he threw away his chance of a World Championship as he crashed out of the opening race of the final round of the Superbike World Championship at Portimao, Portugal on Sunday Oct 25.
It was a cruel blow to the likeable Japanese rider who has now finished runner up twice in the last three years although it would’ve been a travesty had Ben Spies (Yamaha) lost the title. He has decimated the Superbike field in his first year with 11 Poles and 14 race wins compared to Haga’s eight victories.
“First I’ve got to thank Yamaha for giving me everything I needed to win,” said Spies. “It was really good, we did what we had to do and it was difficult to do that because the pace was quite fast and I saw that there were a couple of people behind me.
“I knew that if Nori won I had to be sixth, so I tried to stay out of trouble. It was spectacular, and I can’t thank Yamaha enough and everyone who’s been behind me for my first year here. It’ll sink in during the next couple of days!”
The rookie of the century, Spies gave Yamaha its first Superbike World Championship title since the series’ inception in 1988 and capped off a remarkable day for the tuning fork brand as they won the MotoGP title with Valentino Rossi n the M1 and completed the trifecta as Cal Crutchlow took out the somewhat elusive Supersport title on his R6.
Spies victory is all the more remarkable considering the R1 was a brand new bike that was heavier and harder to set up with the Big Bang firing order.
Haga was up against it from the start from 10th on the grid trying to overhaul pole sitter Ben Spies.
There was no denying Spies in the opening leg. From the get-go he was determined to close the points gap but it was gifted to him when Haga crashed on the sixth lap as he tried to haul in Spies giving chase to Spies who was well out in front.
Only Max Biaggi on the Aprilia really threatened as Johnny Rea also joined the mix but everytime they got close Spies wicked up the Yamaha to pull a gap to take the win and turn a 10-point deficit into a 15-point title winning lead.
The second leg was a different story as it was obvious Spies had some nerves as he made a few mistakes in his battle to stay with the leaders.
Shane “Shakey” Byrne on his privateer Ducati was the surprise packet of the second leg leading for most of the race before Rea, Michel Fabrizio and Haga passed him. It was surprising to see Fabrizio leave his teammate after they past Spies but if Haga had won he would’ve still lost the title by a point and not six as the record books will show.
“My compliments go to Ben who has been such a strong rival this year and even though he is going to MotoGP next year, I am sure we will remain friends,” said Haga.
“All weekend I have had problems with set-up, mainly with the tyres that didn’t give me total confidence. In race one we mounted two hard tyres and they didn’t perform as we’d hoped… and unfortunately I fell even though I wasn’t pushing so hard.
“We changed bikes for race two, just to be sure, as well as changing tyres of course. This time I had more grip and was able to make a good race. Unfortunately second in the race was not enough to take the title and it’s a real pity, but I must say that I have had a great first year with this fantastic team that always provides me with a good bike.
“This year was a new adventure with Ducati and we’ll continue to give 100 per cent in 2010.”
