Second double win for Max Biaggi! (World Superbike)

115.000 spectators witnessed the Monza round of the FIM Superbike World Championship at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. There was a remarkable double win for Max Biaggi, making this his 2nd double win of the year after his first double in  Portimao. 

Race 1

After a heart stopping battle with less than 3/10 of a second dividing the top 3 drivers, Haslam, Biaggi and Crutchlow, it was Max Biaggi who eventually finished 1st. 

Biaggi ran in the top three throughout the whole race but it was after lap 6 that Biaggi took the lead and managed to keep it the rest of the race. Toseland and Crutchlow were on his back the entire race. Eventually, Toseland finished 2nd on 0.247 seconds behind Biaggi and Crutchlow was right behind Toseland, distanced only 0.05 seconds and finishing on 3rd place position. 

Haslam, who had taken the lead for a short stint of 2 laps at the Prima Variante on lap 4, finished in 4th place. He was only 0.958 seconds behind Biaggi. Leon Carnier arrived in 5th place with Ruben Xaus behind him. Michel Fabrizio ended 7th for Ducati Xerox and Troy Corser got 8th place position with Tom Sykes behind him. 

Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea lost the front end of his CBR 1000RR right after he wanted to pass Toseland and Crutchlow. The crash sent his bike over the tire barrier, but he got away with no injuries. 

“We worked very hard for this race weekend, so it was a perfect performance by all the teams” were the words of a relieved Max Biaggi after winning the first race.   

Race 2

The closest challenger of Biaggi in race 1, Crutchlow, was also on Biaggi’s back in the 2nd race. But after he suffered an oil leak and crashed, Biaggi took his 2nd win of the day. 

Leon Haslam took 2nd place on 4.5 seconds behind Biaggi with Troy Corser taking 3rd. With this triumph, Corser made a historic 1st podium finish for BMW in World SBK racing. A lonely Leon Carnier finished 4th and Tom Sykes took 5th position. 

Besides the triumphs, there were also some disappointments. Carlos Checa scored an 11th place in the 2nd race after scoring a 14th place in the first one. Also the double winner of the Superbike in Assen, Jonathan Rea did not score at all at Monza. 

There were also some unlucky drivers during the race. After a crash at turn 1 with James Toseland, Jonathan Rea and Ruben Xaus two of the drivers got injured. James Toseland was taken to a hospital for a CT scan after suffering concussion in the high-speed crash and there was also an injury for Jonathan Rea who sprained his ankle. Ruben Xaus escaped the collision with no injuries. 

After his 2nd victory, Max Biaggi explained that Autodromo di Monza is a difficult track. “This track is very long and it is very easy to make a little mistake. Plus when you have your rhythm, you stay with it.”

Biaggi’s clear win, by 4,5 seconds from championship leader Leon Haslam, sends the SBK paddock to Kyalami confident of more close action between this year’s two most consistent fast riders. See this live on 16 May 2010 in South Africa