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DARK DOG rider Leon Haslam extends
world championship lead in Superbike
after superb victory in action-packed race of South Africa
Kyalami, South Africa:
DARK DOG rider Leon Haslam sticks to success in the Superbike World Championship by posting two podiums - thereof one superb victory - during the sixth round of the Superbike last weekend in Kyalami (South Africa). These sensational results extend his lead over his closest rival Max Biaggi to 15 points in the championship!
On Friday, riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli from Team Suzuki Alstare started the opening day of the race weekend with mixed fortunes: Leon finished a comfortable fifth, Sylvain could only manage 17th. But as it was Sylvain's first visit to this technically and physically demanding track, he was confident to improve his performance in the following two days.
During Superpole on Saturday, Leon battled away to the fifth fastest time and this meant a second row of the grid for the pair of 24-lap races. Although he would've liked a front row grid place, his position on the grid was well-placed for an attack into the first turn and he was prepared for what promises to be yet another fast-paced race day. Leon's team mate Sylvain Guintoli improved his results from the free practice and was charging towards the first two rows of the grid until the smallest of mistakes in Superpole 2 cost him a place in Superpole 3.
The race day was particularly dramatic and action-packed and especially race two was one of the best battles of the season so far. Throughout the race Leon fought tooth and nail with fellow countryman Jonathan Rea (Honda), with Leon taking the lead several times only to get overtaken again. The battle went right down to the wire, with Leon making an audacious passing move one lap from the end. This time he made it stick and went on to take the chequered flag by half a second.
It was Leon's third win and ninth podium of the season and one of the hardest victories of his career. Currently, DARK DOG rider Leon is not only still on top of the overall standing, but in Kyalami he also extended his championship lead over his closest rival Max Biaggi to fifteen points!
Leon's team mate Sylvain Guintoli endured an average day and ended with 10th in race one and 15th in race two.
The next race of the Superbike World Championship will take place in the USA and DARK DOG is already excited about seeing Leon Haslam again on the podium during the seventh round of the Superbike in two weeks!
Leon Haslam
Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 1st
"What an amazing day! The second race was one of the best races I've ever been involved in and definitely one of the hardest. Jonny and I had a real ding-dong and it was bar-to-bar stuff for almost the whole race. I passed him a few times, but he always got me back and the longer the race went on I could feel him working out where I'd pass and how he'd stop me. In the end, I had to pass at a different place and this time I made it stick and held on to the flag. To win a race like that is quite an emotional thing and I have to give a big thank you to the whole team for all their work this weekend. The bike in the second race was an improvement over race one. We had a few issues in race one, so we changed the balance by making the bike a bit lower in the front and higher in the rear. I still had some issues with it, but it was better and allowed me to fight for the win. After the drama of race two, it's hard to remember what happened in race one. I didn't get a good start and had to make up a lot of ground as best as I could. I wasn't completely confident in the front end, so could not push hard enough to catch Michel Fabrizio and Carlos Checa, but I was happy to get on the podium. Today was a tough day, but I'm very happy to have extended my championship lead and I'm looking forward to the next round in the USA."
Sylvain Guintoli
Race 1: 10th, Race 2: 15th
"Well today should've been a lot better than it turned out and I am very disappointed. The first race was not so bad, except that I lost a lot of time in two particular corners and could not catch the front guys. OK, this is a new track for me, but I think I should've been able to cope with it better. The second race was a disaster! I had no grip and no feeling in the brakes. I had made a good start, but Sykes touched me and I lost position. Then I started having problems with the brakes. It felt as if they had no power and that's not a good feeling to have when you are racing at high speed at a track like this. It's been a weekend to forget and I hope that I will be able to get on the pace at the next race, though it will once again be a new track for me."
Results / Race 1
1 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati)
2 Checa (ESP-Ducati)
3 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare)
4 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia)
5 Rea (GBR-Honda)
6 Camier (GBR-Aprilia)...
10 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare)...
Results / Race 2
1 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare)
2 Rea (GBR-Honda)
3 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia)
4 Crutchlow (GBR-Yamaha)
5 Checa (ESP-Ducati)
6 Toseland (GBR-Yamaha)...
15 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare)...
Overall standing
1 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare) 222
2 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) 207
3 Rea (GBR-Honda) 141
4 Checa (ESP-Ducati) 141
5 Toseland (GBR-Yamaha) 125
6 Haga (JPN-Ducati) 106...
11 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare) 77...
