 Kyalami - Haslam crash in the first race [EN] [17-05-09 18:39 by staff GoNBike.com] | ||
Haslam fourth in Kyalami race After an unfortunate crash in the first race, Stiggy Racing Honda's Leon Haslam mounted another fresh charge at a top position in the second race, and took a well earned fourth place at the South African track of Kyalami today. Haslam had firmly placed himself in the top 5 of the timing sheets throughout the qualifying session at the 4.246m Kyalami track. Despite his misfortune in the first race, Haslam made a competitive performance in the second Superbike race while out on his second bike. Haslam came through the first lap in seventh place from his tenth position on the grid, and quickly made a pass on Carlos Checa, before moving up another place as Spies took and early retirement from the race due to a technical problem. Biaggi tried to close the door in front of Haslam, but struggled to keep him off his tail, and found the fast Englishman flying passed him in the second half of the race. Unfortunately, further progress to the front of the field, and a place on the rostrum was halted by fellow Honda rider Johnny Rea, and a worn of rear-tyre. Haslam took no further risks and passed the checkered flag in fourth place, taking 13 valuable championship points home. Ducati team mates Haga and Fabrizio produced a carbon copy of their first Kyalami finish, pulling away from the rest of the field to take first and second place respectively, twice over today. Haslam leaves the sixth round of the Superbike World Championship with 116 points to his name, and currently sits best Honda at fourth place in the Standings. Leon Haslam, Race 1 - DNF, Race 2 - 4th: " It was a bit of a gamble to go out on my second bike today after crashing my number one bike in the first race. My first race was really strange, I don't know whether is was a dodgy front tyre, but from the first lap in the first race I kept losing the front, resulting in a crash. The second bike has a totally different gearbox and suspension set-up to the other bike, but it worked straight away. I was a lot happier now that I could battle with the front group, but for whatever reason there was nothing left in my rear tyre, it felt like a piece of jelly towards the end of the race, and I couldn't fight with Johnny [Rea] for third. I'm glad I managed to hold on till the end on that tyre, and bring the bike back home safely in fourth place ". Johan Stigefelt, Teammanager: " Leon's performance was unbelievable today. He suffered a big crash in the first race, and completely destroyed his bike, but managed to come back in the second race while out on hi second bike. He had not been riding that bike all weekend, and then to set a results like this is just amazing. It goes to show what a class rider and fighter he is. We are all very happy with him setting such a good result here for the team today. It feels good to leave Kyalami with a fourth place in our pocket, and prepare for the next overseas race in America ". ::Stiggy Racing Honda - Press Release:: | ||
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