Stiggy Racing Honda riders impress in Magny-Cours races
05/10/2009 08:30:53

Leon Haslam proved once again his potential in the ultra competitive World Superbike Championship pulling off two impressive race performances, finishing the penultimate races of the 2009 season with two top five finishes at Magny-Cours. Team mate Anthony West made a successful attempt to put some previous disappointing race results behind him by putting in a blistering performance today onboard his Stiggy Racing Honda CBR600RR taking a hard fought fourth place finish.

Leon started race one from a sixth place and quickly moved up to take fourth place on lap one. Falling back to sixth after getting passed by both factory Ducati rider's Haga and Fabrizio the Englishman immediately felt his rear tyre starting to slide. Haslam had to fight hard throughout the 23 lap race keeping his race pace up but finally crossed the finish-line in fifth place and as the best Honda rider. In race two Leon settled in fifth place charging to catch the leading group in front of him and at the same time keeping Byrne behind him. Despite having some technical issues with his machine Haslam crossed the finish line in fifth place and is currently holding sixth place in the overall Championship standings with just one round remaining of the 2009 WSBK season.

Anthony got off to a really good start and put in a hard first couple of laps. Starting from a 16th place on the grid he was up in 10th already on lap three. West quickly found his rhythm and race pace making the same lap times as the front runners. After finally getting past riders who had held him up, Anthony started to push further a couple of laps later he caught up with the group in front of him. Battling for fifth and fourth places West finally took the lead of the four rider group, but just two laps after he fell back down again to a seventh. With only two laps to go the race got stopped due to a crash and as a result, (counting the lap previous to the red flag as final position) Anthony finished today's race in a well deserved fourth place and moved himself up in the current championship standings to a fifth place

Leon Haslam - Race 1 - 5th, Race 2 – 5th:

“We had a little problem in race one that held us back from the leaders. In race two, in the early part of the race, we had a lot better set-up. But after about lap six or seven the bike was surging a bit so I reset the electronics. A few minor things held us back from challenging for a podium or two but I am pretty happy to get a couple of fifths.”

Anthony West – 4th:

“I was a lot better today and I think it was really just down to my feeling and the nature of this track. The set-up of the bike is still not quite what I want to have but for this track there are a lot of places to pass. I got to the group in front of me off the start pretty easy, but once I got to them it was hard to get away. But I ended up leading them on the final lap and I moved up in the championship.”

Johan Stigefelt - Team Manager:

"Leon had two great races today. Two strong fifth place finishes and best Honda rider in race one, I can't be more than satisfied. His good results today have strengthened his sixth place in the championship, closing in on fifth. I hope we can continue this success all the way to the end of the season in the next races at Portimao. I'm very happy with Anthony's race result, he proved that he is still a force in this Championship. It has been a hard time for him lately and to come back this strong at a track he didn't know just two days ago is just great. With his fourth place finish today he moved himself up in the championship to a fifth so I'm very pleased with that too."

SBK RACE 1 RESULTS:

1. Spies. B

2. Haga. N

3. Biaggi. M

5. Haslam Leon, Stiggy Racing Honda

SBK RACE 2 RESULTS:

1. Haga. N

2. Biaggi. M

3. Rea. J

5. Haslam Leon, Stiggy Racing Honda

SBK Championship standings after round 13:

1. Spies. B, 413pts

2. Haga. N, 411pts

3. M Fabrizio, 343pts

4. M Biaggi, 273pts

5. J. Rea, 263pts

6. Leon Haslam, Stiggy Racing Honda, 263pts

SSP RACE RESULTS:

1 Lascorz J.

2 Crutchlow C.

3 Sofuoglu K.

4 West Anthony, Stiggy Racing Honda

SSP Championship standings after round 13:

1. C. Crutchlow 230pts

2. E. Laverty 211pts

3. K. Sofuoglu 169pts

4. J. Lascorz 163pts

5. Anthony West, Stiggy Racing Honda 117pts