WSBK: 2009 Valencia Results

Spies started with his third consecutive pole for Yamaha but it was Suzuki Alstares Max Neukirchner that jumped to the early advantage. Neukirchner traded the lead with Ducati Xeroxs Haga before the Japanese veteran took control on lap three.

Meanwhile, Spies worked his way up among the leaders after dropping down to fifth after the first lap behind BMWs Troy Corser and DFX Ducatis Regis Laconi. By lap six, Spies was in third place behind Haga and Neukirchner.

Spies made a challenge at the first turn of lap ten on Neukirchner but lost his front and spilled into the gravel. Spies was unhurt but his R1 was in no shape to continue.

Race one was unfortunate for me, I was pushing really hard to make up for an electrical issue going into the corner and crashed, says Spies.

With his main championship rival out of the race, Haga held onto the lead the rest of the race. His teammate, Michel Fabrizio finished a hair ahead of Neukirchner for second to earn his first podium of the season.

We were always in the top 10 this weekend but didnt find perfect set-up, says Neukirchner. But during the practices we changed some things and in the end we found a very good way and I am so happy to finish on the podium. I was in second place for so long, but even with this result Im so glad for my team and our new sponsor.

Race two began in similar fashion with Neukirchner leading the first four laps before Haga assumed the lead. Spies again found himself in fifth after lap one after coming in contact with Haga. The incident bent Spies brake lever but the three-time AMA champion managed to work his way up to second by lap six.

Haga was uncatchable however and finished with a five-second lead over Spies. Fabrizio came third for another podium finish

The two victories gave Haga 36 for his career, but more importantly, a 40-point lead over Spies in the championship standings.

Former MotoGP racer John Hopkins finished 11th in his WSBK debut and followed it up with a 12th place finish in race two. The Stiggy Honda pilot qualified 16th but worked his way up to 7th after the first lap of race two. Hopkins stayed in eighth for most of the race until a problem with his fuel system with three laps remaining dropped him down a few spots to 12th.

It definitely was a challenging first round after not riding a bike and dragging a knee since November and then moving straight in and doing two races on one day was a great experience, says Hopkins. I want to say thanks to Stiggy for giving me this ride. We experienced a technical problem with our fuel consumption but it is something we really need to improve.

This weekend was supposed to be a learning curve and I proved that I can do the lap times, says Hopkins. Well have to work on the setup and get it working right. Leon is definitely setting the standards right now and I will have to try and chase him down.

Hopkins will have three weeks to prepare as the WSBK season continues April 24-26 at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands.