Reverend
May 11th, 2008, 19:44 PM
Max Neukirchner became the first German to win a World Superbike Championship race as he claimed one of the rounds in Monza, Italy.
The Alstare Suzuki rider won race one, beating the Yamaha Motor Italia of Noriyuki Haga by just 0.058 seconds.
Championship leader Troy Bayliss was third on his Ducati Xerox, with nearest rival Carlos Checa down in eighth.
In race two, Haga edged out Neukirchner by just 0.009secs with Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari in third.
Both Haga and Neukirchner were behind Kiyonari as they braked for the final entry into the Parabolica but they got through to complete the fifth closest finish in Superbike history.
"It's the first win by a German rider in World Superbike and I'm really happy about that," said Neukirchner. "My team did a great job this weekend.
"Our engine for sure is very fast, Suzuki have done a lot of development work on it."
An engine problem ended Bayliss' afternoon but Checa also retired to ensure the Australian extended his already-daunting championship lead.
Race one result:
1. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki
2. Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha
3. Troy Bayliss (Aus) Ducati
4. Yukio Kagayama (Jpn) Suzuki
5. Max Biaggi (Ita) Ducati
6. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Jpn) Honda
7. Fonsi Nieto (Spa) Suzuki
8. Carlos Checa (Spa) Honda
Race two result:
1. Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha
2. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki
3. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Jpn) Honda
4. Fonsi Nieto (Spa) Suzuki
5. Michel Fabrizio (Ita) Ducati
6. Karl Muggeridge (Aus) Honda
7. Ruben Xaus (Spa) Ducati
8. Troy Corser (Aus) Yamaha 32:20.074
Championship standings:
1. Troy Bayliss 194 pts
2. Carlos Checa 116
3. Noriyuki Haga 112
4. Max Neukirchner 111
5. Fonsi Nieto 107
6. Troy Corser 101
7. Ruben Xaus 90
8. Ryuichi Kiyonari 65
= Max Biaggi 65
Manufacturers' standings:
1. Ducati 217 pts
2. Yamaha 171
3. Suzuki 158
4. Honda 135
5. Kawasaki 44
BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/motorbikes/7394139.stm)
The Alstare Suzuki rider won race one, beating the Yamaha Motor Italia of Noriyuki Haga by just 0.058 seconds.
Championship leader Troy Bayliss was third on his Ducati Xerox, with nearest rival Carlos Checa down in eighth.
In race two, Haga edged out Neukirchner by just 0.009secs with Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari in third.
Both Haga and Neukirchner were behind Kiyonari as they braked for the final entry into the Parabolica but they got through to complete the fifth closest finish in Superbike history.
"It's the first win by a German rider in World Superbike and I'm really happy about that," said Neukirchner. "My team did a great job this weekend.
"Our engine for sure is very fast, Suzuki have done a lot of development work on it."
An engine problem ended Bayliss' afternoon but Checa also retired to ensure the Australian extended his already-daunting championship lead.
Race one result:
1. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki
2. Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha
3. Troy Bayliss (Aus) Ducati
4. Yukio Kagayama (Jpn) Suzuki
5. Max Biaggi (Ita) Ducati
6. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Jpn) Honda
7. Fonsi Nieto (Spa) Suzuki
8. Carlos Checa (Spa) Honda
Race two result:
1. Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha
2. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki
3. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Jpn) Honda
4. Fonsi Nieto (Spa) Suzuki
5. Michel Fabrizio (Ita) Ducati
6. Karl Muggeridge (Aus) Honda
7. Ruben Xaus (Spa) Ducati
8. Troy Corser (Aus) Yamaha 32:20.074
Championship standings:
1. Troy Bayliss 194 pts
2. Carlos Checa 116
3. Noriyuki Haga 112
4. Max Neukirchner 111
5. Fonsi Nieto 107
6. Troy Corser 101
7. Ruben Xaus 90
8. Ryuichi Kiyonari 65
= Max Biaggi 65
Manufacturers' standings:
1. Ducati 217 pts
2. Yamaha 171
3. Suzuki 158
4. Honda 135
5. Kawasaki 44
BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/motorbikes/7394139.stm)