WSBK: Race 1 at Donington Park Decided by Fuel

[Asphalt & Rubber]

*
*
*
This article comes from AsphaltandRubber.com
*
*
*



World Superbike came to Donington Park this weekend, and in Race 1 three riders broke away from the pack at blistering speed. With only two riders capable of pushing further, it looked like the race victory would be decided on the very last lap. Coming into the last few corners, a fuel issue upset what could have been a great finish. Continue reading for the spoilers.

Ben Spies, Max Biaggi, and Noriyuki Haga, all broke away early from the group. Spies lead off the line, and set the tone for the rest of the race. With a blistering pace, Haga couldn’t keep in touch with Biaggi and the Texan, and slowly faded into a race of his own.

The race between Spies and Biaggi was closely faught, with Spies being the faster man in the first half of the track, and Biaggi quicker in the second half. Biding his time the whole race, Max finally made his move in the last lap. Closing within striking distance in the last few corners, Biaggi sprung his trap, but almost immediately it was apparent something was wrong.

Shaking the bike back and forth, it was clear the RSV4 had run out of fuel in the back section of the track. Getting some fuel back into the system by sloshing it around, Biaggi got the RSV4 running again, but limped across the finish line, still holding onto his 2nd place position.

With Biaggi’s problems, Spies won the race easily with a 7 second lead, and Haga would finish a few second behind Biaggi, showing how much time the pair had made over the Japanese rider and the rest of the field.

Results from Race 1 of World Superbike at Donington Park, UK:

Pos.Num.RiderCountryBikeDiff119B. SpiesUSAYamaha YZF R123M. BiaggiITAAprilia RSV4 Factory7.156341N. HagaJPNDucati 1098R10.968491L. HaslamGBRHonda CBR1000RR18.843567S. ByrneGBRDucati 1098R19.125656S. NakanoJPNAprilia RSV4 Factory21.286765J. ReaGBRHonda CBR1000RR23.6448121J. HopkinsUSAHonda CBR1000RR32.849996J. SmrzCZEDucati 1098R32.904109R. KiyonariJPNHonda CBR1000RR33.192117C. ChecaESPHonda CBR1000RR34.5351284M. FabrizioITADucati 1098R35.0931322L. CamierGBRYamaha YZF R135.4411457L. LanziITADucati 1098R39.03415111R. XausESPBMW S1000 RR41.0671614M. LagriveFRAHonda CBR1000RR46.4521771Y. KagayamaJPNSuzuki GSX-R 1000 K947.9241823B. ParkesAUSKawasaki ZX 10R48.2461999L. ScassaITAKawasaki ZX 10R50.93220117S. AndrewsGBRKawasaki ZX 10R55.032212J. HackingUSAKawasaki ZX 10R55.2162253A. PolitaITASuzuki GSX-R 1000 K91′02.7582325D. SalomESPKawasaki ZX 10R1′02.9772494D. ChecaESPYamaha YZF R11′12.2552579B. YoungUSASuzuki GSX-R 1000 K91′12.531RET11T. CorserAUSBMW S1000 RR2 LapsRET27J. EllisonGBRYamaha YZF R110 LapsRET88R. ReschAUTSuzuki GSX-R 1000 K910 LapsRET66T. SykesGBRYamaha YZF R110 LapsRET36G. LavillaESPDucati 1098R16 LapsRET77V. IannuzzoITAHonda CBR1000RR

Visit Asphalt & Rubber for more articles like this one