Combined press release:
World Superbike
It was a fitting result on race day for the Texan Terror Ben Spies at the Miller circuit as the Yamaha rider made it clear his home race belonged to him and him only. Spies led both races form the go with arguably his best race starts of the season ensuring he took the holeshot and had a clear circuit to work his magic on. Having extended a 4.2 second lead in the first race it was red flagged six laps in when Karl Muggeridge crashed out. The race was re started and run on aggregate timing to ensure any advantages from the first start where not lost. From the second start Spies led again with a convincing start over second place Checa to take his first win of the day.
Race two saw another incredible start from Spies, keeping his pole position at the front of the pack. Followed closely by Michel Fabrizio, Spies ran a perfect set of 21 laps in the front to take his second win of the day to the delight of the home crowd.
Team-mate Tom Sykes had an equally impressive race day. Following a bad qualification seeing him start from 22nd on the grid, Sykes had a lot of work to do. Race one saw him put his head down and work consistently up the pack, at the end of the race after aggregate he came home in 13th place. Race two saw an incredible start, Sykes put his talent out for all to see, picking off one rider after another to get down to ninth position. By this time the front pack had got too far away and Sykes ran out on his own for the remainder of the race to keep his top ten finish.
Spies leaves Miller in second place in the championship on 212 points, 53 points behind leader Haga. Sykes heads to Misano in seventh with 113 points, nine points behing sixth placed Haslam.
Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (1st, 1st):
"We've been working on our starts a little bit and with such a long straight we needed one. The first race was pretty comfortable for me, it's a great track if you can get out in front and get into a rhythm. It was a tough race in race two, I almost feel like I robbed Michel of a win he rode so well. I tried to set a good pace but also a pace that was comfortable. In the last six laps I just pulled the pin and gave it everything we could. The pace was extremely fast and it was a great race. It's great to get a double win here, unfortunately we all know Haga is not 100% but you got to capitalize on the weekends when you can. I think Misano is going to be another track the R1 is going to excel it so we're going to go over there with an open mind and see what we can get away with."
Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (13th, 9th):
"We still had some issues with the bike today and obviously the starting position didn't help matters much. We got off the line fairly well in race one but got boxed in on turn one and lost position a bit. A difficult first race but the red flag helped me re start further up the grid and I managed to run some consistent race times. For race two we made a bit more of a change and found another half a second which was good and had a good start. In the first lap I came from 22nd to 14th which was pretty good. Overall it's been quite a difficult weekend with a couple of things but the team and I have sat down and put our heads together and we've made a drastic improvement to the set up and the way we work, we're going to be stronger as a team and I'm confident I can now repay the team and deliver the goods."
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager:
"For the team today was a really great day. We had a good weekend, we came 35 points closer to the leader and I think we can go to Misano optimistic. Tom showed us that he can push hard and he found a really good pace and he kept going."
World Supersport
It was a hard fought race at the Miller Motorsport Park today for Cal Crutchlow as he pulled out all the stops to challenge for the win. Crutchlow was tucked in behind race leader Eugene Laverty for the majority of the race, followed by Lascorz and Sofuoglu. Never more than a bike length away Crutchlow made several attempts to out-brake the Parkalgar Honda rider at the end of the straight but couldn't get past. AS the race drew to a close, just one lap from the end Sofuoglu put a close pass on Crutchlow, taking the second then passing Laverty for the lead. Crutchlow held on to third to take a well deserved podium for his efforts.
Team-mate Foret suffered from a less than perfect start to the race, dropping a couple of places before working his way back up to seventh by lap 11. B y lap 4 he had worked his way up to fifth, taking Nannelli and McCoy in the process. Foret held on to the position to take fifth under the chequered flag.
Crutchlow leaves Miller still leading the championship on 135 points, with a nine point advantage over second placed rider Laverty. Foret heads to Misano in seventh position on 55 points, 11 points behind sixth placed West.
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (3rd):
"For me it was our worst race weekend so far and we still managed to finish third and only a second off the win so I'm pretty pleased to be honest. I could easily have finished fifth or sixth today so to finish third and just behind Eugene wasn't so bad in the end. We'll have to go back to the drawing board for the next race in Misano, a circuit I don't know but I'm looking forward to it to be honest. I think we and the team did a good job this weekend."
Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (5th):
"For most of the race was feeling pretty lonely, my start was not that great, I was pushed out to the edge of the track by another rider so I came into the first corner in a not very good position and was in tenth I think. Then I worked hard to overtake some guys, I was fast enough with good grip to get past them but then it was too late so I was just by myself. I was just doing my own race, pushing but not fighting for a podium, just looking to get the points in. I'm not so happy but at least I take away more points. We head to the next one and see what happens."
Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager:
"it was an interesting race, my heart rate was quite high I have to say. Eugene put in a really good pace and I think Cal needed everything to keep up. Still he went better and better and had a good feeling on the end and was preparing on the last lap to try and pass somewhere but then Sofuoglu made a move on him and he had to settle for third. Sofuoglu then made a move on Laverty and it was quite a hard one so it could have ended differently, I think he was lucky to stay on the bike. I think all three were happy to be on the podium. For Fabien it was a bit of a disappointing start, 11th on the first lap so making it back to fifth was good. I think he enjoyed the ride but for some bits it was a bit lonely, but to get fifth and take some points is not so bad."
