Superbike – Phillip Island – Haga and Fabrizio satisfied with their races

Today the public at Phillip Island was able to enjoy two fantastic Superbike races, the first of which was characterized by the tightest podium in the history of the series: Michel Fabrizio took the checkered flag just four thousandths of a second after Suzuki by Leon Haslam. Michel's teammate Noriyuki Haga finished in third place, just 7 tenths of a second behind. Race 2 was also very close and Fabrizio once again climbed onto the podium; with Nori fifth.

The warm-up went well for Michel, who recorded the fourth fastest time, while his teammate was less fortunate, the victim of a fall at 250km/h entering Turn 1 due to a collision with Xaus who knocked him off his horse. Nori from his 1198. Haga received clearance from the doctors to participate in the races but still suffered severe bruising to his back and right forearm with severe edema which required an infiltration before the race.

Despite the difficulties of the warm-up, Race 1 started very well for both Ducati Xerox riders; Michel maintained the second position he had on the grid and Noriyuki, a lightning strike at the start, recovered several positions, immediately moving from tenth to third place. From the second lap the first three riders, Haslam, Fabrizio and Haga began to gain on the chasing group, led by Jonathan Rea, and at halfway through the race they had an advantage of over five seconds over the Honda rider. In the final laps Michel attempted to pass Haslam but only managed to get really close to him in the final moments of the race, passing under the flag at almost the same moment. It was a photo finish, the closest in Superbike history with Michel just four thousandths behind Haslam, and Haga third immediately behind them.

Race 2 had a copycat start, with Haslam, Fabrizio and Haga once again the best at the traffic lights and immediately in the lead. Haslam's partner, Guintoli, joined the leading group almost immediately while Checa joined them halfway through the race bringing the number of riders fighting for the podium to five. Nori, suffering from his right arm and back pain after his fall in the morning, was unable to keep up with the others until the end but still finished fifth, taking home valuable points. Checa waited until the last lap to launch an attack first on Fabrizio then Haslam, who in turn fought for the second step of the podium, the final prerogative of the Englishman.

An important start to the Championship for the Ducati

Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 – 2nd, Race 2 – 3rd)
“I had a great battle with Leon in Race 1. In the last four laps I tried to understand where I could try to overtake but it wasn't easy. That's why I tried on the finishing straight and, to tell the truth, for a moment I thought I'd made it! Leon and I were close together on the finish line and on the mega screens I saw my wife rejoicing. But the photo finish settled the result and I had to settle for 20 points. My team didn't make any changes to the bike between the two races and at the second start I managed to get a good start again. But then it was a very demanding race: I stayed with the group in front but I realized that it would be difficult to win and in the last four laps it became even more difficult. In the end I am very happy with today's results which allow me to be in second place in the standings: it will be a long and hard-fought season but today we started it well!”

Noriyuki Haga (Race 1 – 3th , Race 2 – 5th)
“I am very satisfied with my result in Race 1 because I was suffering from arm pump, a consequence of the crash in the morning during the warm-up. I was confident I could make a good start, and I did, and then I did everything I could to stay up front with Michel and Leon: only the pain in my arm didn't allow me to fight as I wanted. However, I had a lot of fun and the points I scored in the first heat are really useful for the championship. In Race 2 my arm continued to hurt so much that it became increasingly difficult to brake and I also got physically tired. But all in all, with an eye on the classification and taking into account the morning's accident, it wasn't bad, I did a third and a fifth, taking home good points.”

Ducati Racing Press