Max Biaggi clinched the the 2010 World Superbike championship on home soil today during the series’ penultimate round at Imola, Italy. Race 1 saw the Aprilia Alitalia rider finish a disappointing 11th, leaving the door open for championship rival Leon Haslam who finished the race in fifth spot and, at 52 points back, still within striking distance for the title. Biaggi however fought hard to get ahead of Haslam in race two, sitting third, 4 places ahead of the Briton by lap seven. Biaggi’s first title in 17 years then became a foregone conclusion three laps later when Haslam’s GSX-R1000 began billowing smoke. Engine failure brought the Alstare Suzuki rider’s championship quest to a frustrating end. With his team and cheering spectators signalling he now had the 2010 title in the bag, Biaggi withdrew from his battle for second with Kawasaki rider Tom Sykes and rode the rest of the race in relaxed fashion, ultimately crossing the finish line fifth.
Winner of both Imola races was Althea Ducati rider Carlos Checa. The Spaniard’s impressive double, his second and third wins of the season, came on the same day as his announcement of a two-year contract extension with the Italian team. His maximum points haul puts him in position to overtake third place Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rae—out with a broken wrist and collar bone after crashing during qualifying and then warm-up this weekend. Though Haslam is firmly ensconced in the overall number two spot, third place will still be up for grabs during the final two races. Yamaha rider Cal Crutchlow, 49 points behind Rae in fifth, still has a mathematical chance of moving into third, but it is Checa, now only 14 points back, who has a real chance of doing so. It’s not certain whether Rae, who until today had made six consecutive podiums, will also miss the final round of the season on Oct. 3 at Magny-Cours, France.
Imola WSBK Race 1 Results
1. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 38mins 27.631s
2. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +1.171s
3. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +1.472s
4. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Aprilia RSV-4 +6.691s
5. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +9.594s
6. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +10.979s
7. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +15.023s
8. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +4.15.913s
9. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +17.025s
10. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +20.795s
11. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +21.243
12. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +25.860s
13. Luca Scassa ITA Supersonic Ducati 1198 31.551s
14. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +31.689s
15. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +44.349s
16. Federico Sandi ITA Gabrielli Aprilia RSV-4 +58.693s
17. Ian Lowry GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +1min 10.388s
18. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 13.648s
19. Fabrizio Lai ITA Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +1min 15.939s Did Not Finish
20. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 7 laps completed
21. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1 lap completed
Did Not Start
Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR
Imola WSBK Race 2 Results
1. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 21 Laps
2. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +2.129s
3. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +3.926s
4. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +5.762s
5. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +7.025s
6. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +12.147s
7. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +14.212s
8. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +18.029s
9. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +18.249s
10. Luca Scassa ITA Supersonic Ducati 1198 +19.446s
11. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +23.674s
12. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +34.804s
13. Federico Sandi ITA Gabrielli Aprilia RSV-4 +53.540s
14. Fabrizio Lai ITA Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +1min 03.102s
15. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 07.185s
16. Ian Lowry GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +1min 08.926s
Did Not Finish
17. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 13 laps completed
18. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 10 laps completed
19. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Aprilia RSV-4 9 laps completed
20. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 9 laps completed
21. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 3 laps completed
Did Not Start
Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR
2010 WSBK Riders’ Championship Standings
POS RIDER TEAM POINTS
1 Max Biaggi Aprilia Racing 413
2 Leon Haslam Suzuki Alstare 350
3 Jonathan Rea Ten Kate Honda 288
4 Carlos Checa Althea Ducati 274
5 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha Sterilgarda 239
6 Noriyuki Haga Ducati Xerox 238
7 James Toseland Yamaha Sterilgarda 187
8 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki Alstare 184
9 Michel Fabrizio Ducati Xerox 169
10 Troy Corser BMW 165
11 Leon Camier Aprilia Racing 164
12 Shane Byrne Althea Ducati 154
13 Ruben Xaus BMW 96
14 Tom Sykes Kawasaki SRT 93
15 Jakub Smrz B&G Ducati/Aprilia 89
16 Lorenzo Lanzi DFX Ducati 83
17 Luca Scassa Supersonic Ducati 70
18 Max Neukirchner Ten Kate Honda 47
19 Chris Vermeulen Kawasaki SRT 10
= Roger Lee Hayden Pedercini Kawasaki 10
21 Broc Parkes Echo CRS Honda 9
22 Joshua Brookes Echo CRS/Honda 6
= Matteo Baiocco Pedercini Kawasaki 6
24 Ian Lowry Kawasaki SRT 4
25 Andrew Pitt Reitwagen BMW 3
= Sheridan Morais EmTek Aprilia 3
= Federico Sani Gabrielli Aprilia 3
28 Fabrizio Lai Echo CRS Honda 2
