The American rider took his eighth World Superbike victory of the season on Sunday morning at the Misano WSB round, and followed this up with a disappointing 8th in the afternoon race.


From the start of the first race, on a damp track, first-time pole sitter Jakub Smrz got away well, but was no match for Shane Byrne, who shot past him at the opening corner, followed by Spies, Carlos Checa and Michel Fabrizio.

Spies looked to be out of contention in the early stages of the race, with Shane Byrne taking the initiative and pulling out a huge 15 second gap over his nearest rival. But with the track drying fast, Spies started to apply his magic as he quickly caught and passed Byrne, to win by a clear eight seconds.

In the second race, Jonathan Rea became the fourth different World Superbike Championship winner in 2009 after a daring last lap manoeuvre that saw him snatch a maiden victory.

Rea had a race-long exchange with Ducati team riders Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga, but while the Italian looked to have stolen the initiative when he moved ahead with only a handful of laps remaining, Rea did not let his rival pull away. Instead, Rea launched his assault at the beginning of the final lap, passing Fabrizio and then resisting pressure from his rival to the chequered flag.

Race one winner Ben Spies looked out of it as he slowed down on the first lap, with what turned out to be an overheated clutch. He hung on to 8th at the end, to salvage some points from this mechanical mess.

The next round will be held at Donington Park on June 26th.

WSBK Misano Race 1 - Results
Pos. Rider Team Gap
1. Ben Spies Yamaha 24 laps
2. Shane Byrne Ducati +7.931s
3. Michel Fabrizio Ducati +11.836s
4. Jakub Smrz Racing +11.886s
5. Noriyuki Haga Ducati +31.670s
6. Yukio Suzuki GSX-R +33.241s
7. Etc…….

WSBK Misano Race 2 - Results
Pos. Rider Team Gap
1.Jonathan Rea Honda 22 Laps
2. Michel Fabrizio Ducati +0.063s
3. Noriyuki Haga Ducati +0.457s
4. Jakub Smrz Racing +3.635s
5. Carlos Checa Honda +4.460s
6. Shane Byrne Ducati +4.538s
7. Etc…

WSBK Standings – After Misano (Round 8 of 14)
Pos. Rider Points
1. Noriyuki Haga 292
2. Ben Spies 244
3. Michel Fabrizio 237
4. Jonathan Rea 167
5. Max Biaggi 135




Photo Credit : Yamaha