WSBK: Race 1 at Nürburgring a Fight for the Championship Rekindled

With the long summer break, everyone in World Superbike was waiting to see what would happen to the Championship Standings while at Germany. With two races on each race day, Ben Spies would have two chances to chip away at Noriyuki Haga’s 7 point lead, and finally take control of the series. With Haga still on the mend, the Nürburgring seemed like it would be hostile ground for the Xerox Ducati rider, but any thoughts of Haga being a push-over were quickly dispelled by his lightning Superpole performance.

Race 1 got off to a bit of a hickup, as a a pile up caused both Makoto Tamada and John Hopkins to be taken to the hospital for suspected injuries. With the restart of Race 1, Noriyuki Haga took an early lead, getting a great start from the pole position. Close behind were Ten Kate Honda’s Johnny Rea and BMW’s Troy Corser, followed by Ben Spies.

It took Spies 11 laps to claw his way up to the front, and pass Haga for the lead. The veteran Japanese rider wasn’t going to give the young American any free points though, and the pair battled all the rest of the race for supremacy.

It wasn’t to be Haga’s race though. With two laps left in Race 1, Spies found a little bit extra in himself, and was able to put a gap on Haga, leading him by 4 seconds across the finish line. Following Haga was Carlos Checa, who beat out his fellow Ten Kate teammate, Johnny Rea, to take the final spot on the podium.

With this finish, Haga’s Championship lead was reduced to just 2 points over Spies.

Results from Race 1 of World Superbike at Nürburgring, Germany: