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WSBK: Spies Gets #8, Rea Gets #1 At Misano
Written by: Eric Johnson   
06/21/2009
Misano Adriatico (ITA)
 
Yamaha Motor Italia's Ben Spies (Photo: Brian J Nelson) ยป More Photos

On Sunday, June 20, 2009 at Round 8 of the 14-round Superbike World Championship on the 16-turn, 4,226-meter Misano World Circuit in Italy, Yamaha’s Ben Spies won the opening race with a phenomenal light-to-flag score, and in the process, cut championship leader Nori Haga’s point surplus down to less than 40.

It was the American’s eighth win of 2009 -- and third consecutive win -- and moved him to 39 points behind Haga in the race for the world title, the two at 237 and 276 marks, respectively, following the opening leg.

The 24-lap race started with every bike on the grid shod with rain tires on a wet track that appeared to be drying quickly. Sterilgarda Ducati's Shane Byrne holeshot the race and took off like a bat out of hell, his lead up to 20 seconds over Ruben Xaus and his BMW on lap number 15. American Jamie Hacking and his Kawasaki held onto third place. Spies, meanwhile, was sixth and 45 seconds adrift of the leaders.

Trying to maintain too much of a good
thing, Byrne’s tires started to go away in rapid fashion and he was forced to pit to switch bikes. Xaus then motored into the lead. Spies, who had changed bikes on lap number 12, timed it perfectly, charging back towards the front, albeit a minute down at one point. With his tires warming, Spies name kept flashing up the scoring monitors, his Yamaha up to fifth place by lap 16. By lap number 18 he was in the lead, and six laps later in meeting the checkered flag he was 7.931-seconds seconds ahead of runner-up Byrne.

Ducati Xerox's Michel Fabrizio was third, just ahead of Jakub Smrz of the Guandalini Racing outfit. Haga crossed the finish line stripe in fifth ahead of Alstare Suzuki Brux's Yukio Kagayama. Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's Jonathan Rea was seventh, with Yamaha's Tom Sykes in eighth and Aprilia's Shinya Nakano, ninth. Hacking changed bikes on lap 19 and would end up placing 16h overall. Stiggy Racing Honda's John Hopkins chose not to race, still bothered by his nagging hip injury.


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