2010 World Superbike Season Begins With Closest WSBK Finish Ever

0.004 seconds

That's the span which ultimately separated Suzuki's Leon Haslam and Ducati's Michel Fabrizio at the end of Sunday's WSBK season opener at Philip Island. Race 1 was so close that Michel was presumed winner during the cool-down lap. Upon further review, Haslam was handed his first-ever World Superbike victory. After a valiant chase, the race came down to a full-throttle, full-tuck drag race.

Austrlian fans also witnessed MotoGP veteran and former factory Honda man Carlos Checa heroically piloting his privateer Althea Ducati to a race 2 victory, making a spectacular final-moments pass on race one's winner, Haslam.

It was a tough day for some other Moto GP converts, including ex-Rizla Suzuki pilot Chris Vermuelen and former WSBK champion James Toseland, both of whom were forced to retire.

In the supersport class, Laverty made a profound statement early in the season with a dominant win at the Philip Island circuit.

Full Results:

Superbike Race 1:

1 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 34'13.435 (171,442 kph)
2 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 0.004
3 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 0.769
4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 10.201
5 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 10.782
6 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 11.079
7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 11.208
8 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 16.522
9 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 20.291
10 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 26.352
11 2 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 29.775
12 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 30.155
13 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 31.951
14 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 31.957
15 88 Pitt A. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 55.082
16 31 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'10.932
17 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'11.237
18 95 Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'17.357
19 25 Brookes J. (AUS) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 77 Vermeulen C. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1

Superbike Race 2:

1 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 34'16.428 (171,192 kph)
2 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 0.307
3 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 0.434
4 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 0.837
5 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 3.453
6 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 11.530
7 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 12.026
8 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 13.068
9 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 14.401
10 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 14.707
11 2 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 14.743
12 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 14.851
13 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 15.143
14 25 Brookes J. (AUS) Honda CBR1000RR 30.947
15 88 Pitt A. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 41.855
16 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 48.844
17 31 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'06.866
18 95 Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'07.751
RET 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 77 Vermeulen C. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R

Supersport:

1 50 Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 33'37.836 (166,536 kph)
2 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 4.359
3 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 4.500
4 25 Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 11.779
5 99 Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 17.266
6 55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 25.034
7 127 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 27.834
8 40 DiSalvo J. (USA) Triumph Daytona 675 30.102
9 117 Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 31.931
10 4 Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 31.991
11 37 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 40.552
12 7 Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 40.556
13 16 Charpentier S. (FRA) Triumph Daytona 675 1'28.553
14 33 Cazzola P. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR
15 9 Dell'Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR
RET 51 Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR
RET 5 Lundh A. (SWE) Honda CBR600RR

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BMW HP2 Sport Motorsport to go on sale in Europe in 2010

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BMW have announced a limited edition version of the HP2 Sport – the HP2 Sport Motorsport – only 400 units of which will be built. The paintjob comes from BMW’s HP2 endurance racer, the boxer-twin churns out 133 horsepower and 115Nm of torque and the bike weighs 178 kilos dry. The bike will only be available in Europe, though prices haven’t been announced yet.

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1. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 46min 47.553 sec
2. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 46min 50.183 sec
3. Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 46min 50.466 sec
4. Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 3 47min 20.068 sec
5. Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Team 47min 22.138 sec
6. Toni Elias San Carlo Honda Gresini 47min 22.441 sec
7. Ben Spies Sterilgarda Yamaha Team 47min 25.259 sec
8. Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 47min 25.917 sec
9. Mika Kallio Pramac Racing 47min 30.044 sec
10. Alex de Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 47min 31.242 sec
11. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 47min 33.571 sec
12. James Toseland Monster Yamaha Tech 3 47min 37.779 sec
13. Aleix Espargaro Pramac Racing 47min 44.721 sec
14. Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 47min 54.430 sec
15. Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 47min 59.254 sec
16. Gabor Talmacsi Scot Racing Team MotoGP 48min 1.958 sec
17. Marco Melandri Hayate Racing Team 48min 20.978 sec

DNS:
Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team (Crashed out during the warm-up lap!)

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The R7 (above) was beautifully finished and handled well, but lacked power (in stock form) and was horribly expensive

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The OW01’s successor, the YZF750R was deemed heavy and underpowered by purists and did not enjoy the kind of racing success which its predecessor did. However, the Yamaha YZF R7, also known as the OW02, redeemed some of the prestige which Yamaha lost, picking up a few race victories in WSB with Noriyuki Haga, and earning a name for itself as the best handling bike Yamaha’s ever made. The R7 was never a sales success though, as it only made 100 horsepower in stock trim (150 horsepower or more, when set up and tuned for racing…) and cost more than twice as much as an equally powerful, yet much more affordable R1.

A bunch of 1990s bikes - a Kawasaki ZXR750, Yamaha YZF750 and the original Fireblade - against a K6 model Suzuki GSX-R1000? Yes!

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