Phillip Island: Race Results (1)

LEON HASLAM clinched his maiden World Superbike victory at the weekend, in the opening round of the 2010 season, at Phillip Island, Australia.

In one of the closest finishes seen in the history of the series, Haslam pipped Xerox Ducati man Michel Fabrizio to the chequered flag, crossing the finishing line a mere 0.004 secs ahead of the Italian. Fabrizio's team-mate and 2009 WSB title runner-up Noriyuki Haga claimed the final spot on the podium.

After the race, Haslam said:

“I am so happy to get my first WSBK win and it feels great. I want to thank the team and all the staff back at the workshop for all their support and hard work and I'd also like to thank Francis and Patricia Batta for having faith in me.

“The first race was such hard work and it was impossible to relax for a second. I knew that I had Michel and Nori breathing down my neck, but I just kept concentrating on my lines and my braking points and tried to hold them off. I realised that Michel was in my wheeltracks going into the last turn and would try and use the draft to get past me, but I kept my head down and charged to the flag.

“At the end, I didn't know if I'd won or not, but when I realised that I had, I was so unbelievably happy and it was such a fantastic feeling. All weekend I knew that a win was possible, but thinking about and it happening are two different things!”

Phillip Island - Race One

1. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 34mins 13.435s  22 laps
2. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +0.004s
3. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +0.769s
4. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +10.201s
5. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +10.782s
6. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +11.079s
7. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +11.208s
8. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1198 +16.522s
9. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +20.291s
10. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +26.352s
11. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +29.775s
12. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +30.155s
13. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +31.951s
14. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +31.957s
15. Andrew Pitt AUS Reitwagen BMW S1000RR +55.082s
16. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR +1min 10.932s
17. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 11.237s
18. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 17.357s
19. Joshua Brookes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +6 laps

Not Classified

20. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 5 laps completed
21. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 3 laps completed
22. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 2 laps completed

DNS

Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR
Roland Resch AUT Reitwagen BMW S1000RR