WSBK: 2009 Assen Results

Haga, the winningest WSBK rider to have never won the title, certainly looks to be in championship form after earning his fourth win of the season, April 26 in Assen, Netherlands. Combined with a runner-up finish in race one in Assen, the Ducati Xerox rider extended his lead in the rider standings to 60 points over second-place holder Ben Spies.

The three-time AMA champion took advantage of his starting position to stake an early lead in race one. Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Max Neukirchner followed in second while Jakub Smrz of the Guandalini Ducati team followed in third. Haga finished the first lap fourth but soon overtook Smrz.

Neukirchner stayed in second place until a crash on lap seven dropped him well out of contention. That allowed Haga to set his sights on the lead. On lap 13, a problem with the tires on Spies Yamaha R1 gave Haga the opening he was waiting for. Haga passed to take the lead with Stiggy Honda s Leon Haslam behind him.

The three front-runners stayed in that order until lap 20 when Spies caught up to Haslam, running alongside the former British Superbike racer through three corners. Haslam learned up-close why Spies nickname is Elbows as the two riders made contact, with Spies emerging with the advantage.

With only a few turns left on the final lap, Spies made his final challenge and passed Haga for the lead. The two riders sprinted to the finish with Spies winning by 0.154 seconds. Haslam crossed the finish close behind for the third podium position.

I was losing a lot of time out of the hairpin and onto the start-finish straight and was trying to match Nori through there and the next minute me and Spies had a good elbow session but it was a fantastic race and again a big thanks to the team to give me a package to do that, says Haslam.

Before race two, the Yamaha team worked to correct the tire problems Spies encountered, but their efforts were spoiled by a second-lap highside that sent Spies into the gravel and out of the race.

I was pushing and got out wide in turn one and touched the Astroturf piece and high-sided, says Spies. Its a shame as I felt really good and the bike felt right. You never know if you can win the race but I felt we could have had a faster race than the first.

With his main rival out of the way, Haga proceeded unchallenged to take the flag. The win was Hagas first at Assen TT since 2000.

We changed the setting of the bike slightly for Race 2 and I was extremely comfortable on it, says Haga. Im sorry that Ben fell as I think we would have had another good battle but for me and my team its been a very good day.

Hagas teammate Michel Fabrizio and Haslam battled for second with Haslam taking control on lap 13. Fabrizio began having problems shifting his 1198 in the final laps, allowing Smrz to move ahead. Smrz would finish third behind Haslam for his first career WSBK podium position.

I was just staying behind Michel and he had a problem or something, it was really close but I could just pass him at the finish, says Smrz. Im really happy because everybody said before that I can be fast only in qualifying, so now I showed everyone that I can be fast in the race as well and its a great result for me and the team.

American John Hopkins, who made his WSBK debut for Stiggy Honda at the previous round in Valencia, Spain, missed the Assen races after suffering several injuries including a dislocated hip and a cracked femur from high-siding during the practice session. Hopkins returned to the U.S. for examination.

The 2009 WSBK Championship season continues May 8-10 at Italys historic Monza Circuit.