Max Neukirchner moved into contention at the sharp end of the World Superbike standings after claiming victory in race one at Misano. The Alstare Suzuki rider is up to second place in the riders’ standings behind long-time leader Troy Bayliss after his second win of the season was followed by a seventh place in race two, which was won by Sterilgarda Ducati’s Ruben Xaus. Ducati Xerox ace Bayliss came home in third in both races to ensure his lead at the top remains a healthy one, with the Australian on 259 points, 49 clear of Neukirchner.
Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) e Ruben Xaus (Ducati) vincono a sorpresa le due gare del GP San Marino, ottava prova del Mondiale SBK a Misano. Il favorito Troy Bayliss (Ducati) finisce due volte terzo. Max Biaggi (Ducati), abbattuto da Michel Fabrizio in prima manche, salva la giornata con un grande secondo posto che segna il ritorno sul podio dopo 13 gare di digiuno.
Reigning MotoGP champion Casey Stoner claimed his second win in six days with victory at the Dutch TT in Assen as James Toseland recovered from last week’s debacle to finish ninth. After topping the podium at Donington last week, Australian Stoner claimed his third win of the season in Holland to cut the gap at the top of the championship standings from 45 to 29 points. The Ducati Marlboro rider finished ahead of Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, who moved to the top of the standings over Valentino Rossi after the Italian finished the day in 11th place due to a crash in the opening lap. Pedrosa got off to a storming start from second on the grid when he beat Stoner into the first bend.
Nel GP d’Olanda trionfo dell’australiano della Ducati Casey Stoner che domina davanti allo spagnolo ora in testa grazie anche alla caduta di Valentino (11°) dopo due curve. Edwards terzo davanti ad Hayden.
Casey Stoner claimed a crushing victory in the British MotoGP at Donington Park while James Toseland suffered his fourth fall in two days.Stoner, who started on pole for only the second time this season, crossed the line ahead of championship leader Valentino Rossi. The Italian’s nearest rival, Dani Pedrosa of Spain, climbed from ninth on the grid to finish third. The Australian, riding a Ducati, never looked in danger of surrendering his advantage and finished 5.789 seconds ahead of Rossi to take his first chequered flag since the season opener in Qatar.
Casey Stoner non ha dato scampo ai suoi rivali nel Gran Premio di Gran Bretagna, classe MotoGP. L’australiano è partito dalla pole senza che nessuno andasse a riprenderlo. Alla fine è stato trionfo in solitaria, davanti a Valentino Rossi e Daniel Pedrosa. Bravo anche Andrea Dovizioso, quinto.
Noriyuki Haga put himself firmly in the World Superbike championship picture with a superb double win at the Nurburgring. A thrilling battle in the rain between the Japanese rider and his Yamaha team-mate Troy Corser was brought to a premature end by the red flags. Corser was leading the second race as the flags came out, but with the count-back rule the race was deemed finished after lap 15, at which point Haga was ahead of the Australian rider. The victory was made even more special by the fact that two weeks ago Haga broke his collarbone in three places in a practice crash in Salt Lake City.
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) ha dominato la settima prova del Mondiale Superbike al Nurburgring (Germania) ma Troy Bayliss (Ducati) con due piazzamenti – secondo e quarto – consolida il primato in campionato dopo il triplice passo falso che aveva riportato sotto gli inseguitori. Max Biaggi, caduto nel warm up, parte acciaccato e finisce solo 13°. Poi si riscatta con il settimo posto nella manche conclusiva: con la Ducati privata è impossibile fare miracoli.
Dani Pedrosa took his second MotoGP victory of the 2008 season - and maintained his perfect home Spanish record - by slaughtering his rivals during the Catalan Grand Prix. A classic Pedrosa victory saw the Repsol Honda rider snatch the lead at turn one, then set off like a rocket to build a two second lead over pole sitter Casey Stoner by lap two of 25. Whilst his rivals squabbled, Pedrosa simply disappeared into the distance.
Pedrosa primo, Rossi secondo. Questa, la classifica del GP di Catalunya. A parti invertite, la situazione nel mondiale, con 7 punti a dividerli. Ci sono buoni motivi per tutti, o quasi, dunque, per sorridere.
Valentino Rossi escaped from the pack to claim his magnificent seventh consecutive home Mugello victory in dominant style in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. Rossi, riding under bright sunshine and in front of almost 100,000 trackside fans, got a bad start from pole position an was only fourth through the first sequence of corners, behind Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi. But The Doctor worked his way clinically forwards, passing Capirossi’s Suzuki on the opening lap and immediately closing the slight gap to his title rivals. Stoner’s powerful Ducati got the better of Pedrosa along the home straight on lap 2 of 23, with Rossi dropping the Repsol Honda rider back to third later on the same lap. The Fiat Yamaha star then took the race lead from Stoner with a clever inside move through a downhill turn and the face painted on the top of Rossi’s special Mugello helmet never looked back.
Come se corresse nel cortile di casa. Pole e vittoria, la settima consecutiva su questa pista. Valentino Rossi ha domato per l’ennesima volta il Mugello e i suoi rivali, e così ha allungato ancora in testa al Mondiale MotoGP. E’ lui l’uomo del giorno al GP d’Italia. E con lui, che ha messo in fila Casey Stoner (Ducati) e Daniel Pedrosa (Honda), va celebrato anche un grande Alex De Angelis, quarto sul traguardo con la Honda del team Gresini. Il tutto dopo una rimonta strepitosa dopo una partenza poco felice.
Carlos Checa capitalised on Troy Bayliss’ problems to reignite the title race with his first career victories in the sixth round of the World Superbikes series in Salt Lake City. The Spaniard, starting on pole for the first time since his move from MotoGP, clinched race one ahead of Troy Corser for his first win since his 1998 triumph in the Madrid Grand Prix, while championship leader Bayliss failed to finish after an early fall. And the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider did not have to wait long for his second triumph, finishing ahead of Germany’s Max Neukirchner in race two, with Italy’s Michel Fabrizio third and Australian Bayliss encountering mechanical problems to fall out of the points at the Miller Motorsports Park.
Carlos Checa domina il GP degli Stati Uniti e riapre clamorosamente il Mondiale Superbike approfittando della giornata nera del capoclassifica Troy Bayliss prima caduto e poi costretto al ritiro da un problema al cambio. Alla vigilia la Ducati aveva 78 punti di margine sulla Honda che si sono ridotti a 28. La marca giapponese festeggia il centesimo successo Sbk mentre Checa torna al successo dieci anni dopo Jarama ’98 con la Honda 500 GP. Checa ha dedicato la vittoria all’amico Wayne Rainey, tre volte iridato 500 fermato da un grave incidente a Misano ’93. La Ducati si è (parzialmente) consolata con il doppio terzo posto di Michel Fabrizio alla migliore prestazione con la 1098F08 ufficiale.
Valentino Rossi fought from fourth on the grid to win the French MotoGP at Le Mans by almost five seconds from Fiat Yamaha team-mate and rookie sensation Jorge Lorenzo, who began in fifth. Briton James Toseland of Yamaha Tech 3 retired only two laps in while his team-mate Colin Edwards took third.
The finish means that Italian Rossi takes over at the top of the riders’ standings with 97 points, while Spaniards Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa - who finished fourth after a battle with American Edwards - are level on 94.
Reigning world champion Casey Stoner was fifth after holding a podium position for several laps and is fourth overall, a massive 38 points further back.
Valentino Rossi ha vinto il GP di Francia classe MotoGP, quinta prova del Mondiale 2008. Il pesarese della Yamaha ha dominato davanti ai compagni di marca Jorge Lorenzo e Colin Edwards. Quarto Daniel Pedrosa, sesto Andrea Dovizioso, settimo Loris Capirossi. Nel Mondiale Rossi ha così conquistato la testa.
Cal Crutchlow powered through the pain barrier to take third place and a victory in the third round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch. The HM Plant Honda rider sustained a dislocated right ankle and ligament damage in a recent crash but was passed fit to race after lengthy treatment by the Coventry City physio and series medics.
Former champion Shane Byrne won the opening race by almost two seconds from Rizla Suzuki rider Tom Sykes with Crutchlow just adrift.
In the second race, after team-mate Leon Haslam had run wide while leading, Crutchlow moved ahead.
The intervention of the safety car while Malcolm Ashley was treated after a heavy crash bunched the pack, with Byrne and Sykes just behind Crutchlow.
Spettacolo e sorprese nel GP d’Italia Superbike. Davanti a 112 mila spettatori (record) vittorie di tappa di Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) e Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha). Troy Bayliss, sempre protagonista, si è ritirato per un problema al motore Ducati dopo il terzo posto della prima uscita. Sfortuna nera per Max Biaggi che ottiene un buon quinto posto e poi viene spinto fuori pista da Jakub Smrz. Nella collisione innescata Biaggi ha subìto la rifrattura del dito mignolo della mano sinistra già lesionato nel 1999, quando correva in 500. La mano di Max è stata immobilizzata con una fasciatura leggera che verrà tolta alla vigilia del prossimo GP negli Usa, il primo giugno. L’uscita di Bayliss, la prima della stagione e su questo tracciato, non crea contraccolpi nella classifica Mondiale. Anzi l’australiano (194 punti) sale a +78 sull’immediato inseguitore Carlos Checa (Honda) caduto senza conseguenze.
Five-time champion Valentino Rossi won his first MotoGP race of 2008 with a superb performance in Shanghai. The Italian legend set a succession of lap records in cool, slightly damp conditions, shaking off the persistent Dani Pedrosa, who takes over the championship lead. Ducati’s Casey Stoner finished some way back in third ahead of the heroic Jorge Lorenzo, who broke his ankle in a horrifying crash on Friday but raced on to claim fourth.
Nel GP di Cina Valentino conquista il successo sette mesi dopo l’ultima volta all’Estoril. Splendida cavalcata a colpi di giri record. Alle sue spalle Pedrosa, 3° Stoner. Ottimo Melandri 5° dietro a Lorenzo, incredibile 4° con la frattura alla caviglia sinistra.
