Wow! Round 10 of the ’09 WSBK Championship started off with a bang in race one – the bang of Michel Fabrizio’s Ducati clanging right into Ben Spies on the #19 Yamaha and taking them both out of the race. Ben, riding hard in first place, was caught totally unawares as Fabrizio cut inside him too fast on a pass attempt. When Fabrizio tried to slow, he lost his front end and swept Spies off the track.

And boy, was big Ben pissed. Fabrizio immediately ran over to Spies to offer his apologies, but Ben shoved him away and pointed to his head as if to say “Use it next time, you idiot!”

Benefiting from the mishap was Max Biaggi, who instantly went from 3rd to 1st and held on for his first race win aboard the new Aprilia RSV4. And don’t forget points leader Noriyuki Haga, who is riding injured and managed to finish in 8th. With Ben Spies, number 2 in points, out of the race, Haga must have been ecstatic to be able to increase his points lead on a day in which he figured to see his lead shrink or even disappear.

Race 2 was a whole different story – it played out as race 1 should have. Big Ben swept into first place after the first two turns, and pushed to stretch his lead. Fabrizio aboard his Ducati and Max Biaggi on the Aprilia again worked hard to keep up, and thus began a battle for second between the two of them that lasted several laps. Time and time again Max pushed hard with speed into corners and moved past Fabrizio, only to run wide and watch as Fabrizio swept past him back into second. It was like a dance that played out again and again until finally Max mad a pass and held on. Immediately Max began creeping closer to Spies, and with 3 laps left it looked as though Biaggi would make a move for the win, but Ben was incredibly late on the brakes through every corner, blocking Biaggi’s change at a passing move. At times it looked almost as though Ben was stopping his bike mid-corner before jamming on the throttle to launch his #19 Yamaha R1 blasting out of the turn. Ben had just enough to hold off Max and take the win in race two. Points leader Haga finished in seventh place – again, very respectable for someone who’s shoulder may have been dislocated two weeks ago.

With the day’s result, the points gap between Haga and Spies is down to 7 points. The fight for the championship will be incredibly interesting, and I am absolutely looking forward to the conclusion of the season after the summer break. Definitely tune in to Speed Channel on Sundays for some great race action- you won’t be disappointed.