Ben Spies captured his and Yamaha's first ever World Superbike Championship title in front of 86,000 people in the 2009 season finale at Portimao, Portugal on Sunday. Spies, starting on the pole for a record eleventh time this season, led race 1 from start to finish, claiming his 14th win of the season. Chief rival, Noriyuki Haga, coming into the Algarve race with a 10 point lead, crashed out on lap seven, giving the American a new 15 point advantage and virtually cementing his title win. Needing only a 6th place finish in the second race to capture the championship, Spies played it safe, placing 5th to claim a 6 point margin win over Haga who finished the final race in second behind, Ducati team mate Michel Fabrizio.
"First I've got to thank Yamaha for giving me everything I needed to win. It was really good, we did what we had to do and it was difficult to do that because the pace was quite fast and I saw that there were a couple of people behind me. I knew that if Nori won I had to be sixth, so I tried to stay out of trouble. It was spectacular, I can't thank Yamaha enough and everyone who's been behind me for my first year here. It'll sink in in the next couple of days!", said Spies.
Haga, now a three-time World Superbike Championship runner up, said, "This weekend we had a problem with the rear tire and in the first race we made a mistake with the tire choice and I crashed. Second race was quite good, I was worried for the tire life, but I started to push and I am happy for second position. Unlucky for today for the title but I try to do my best for next year and congratulations to Ben for the world title."
Spies moves to MotoGP for 2010, joining fellow American Colin Edwards on the Tech 3 Yamaha team, and will make his debut next week as a wild card rider at the Valencia 2009 season finale.
Race 1 Results
1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 38'15.390 (158,442 kph)
2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1.697
3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2.113
4. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 2.757
5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 14.753
6. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 20.044
7. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 25.634
8. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 31.104
Race 2 Results
1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 38'19.654 (158,148 kph)
2. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1.195
3. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1.494
4. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 5.553
5. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 5.842
6. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 7.374
7. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 9.658
8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 10.434
9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 17.010
10. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 24.509
11. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 27.195
12. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 34.825
13. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 35.135
14. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'01.842
15. Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1'09.782
16. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'30.818
Final Points
1. Spies 462
2. Haga 456
3. Fabrizio 382
4. Biaggi 319
5. Rea 315
6. Haslam 241
7. Checa 209
8. Byrne 192
9. Sykes 176
10. Smrz 169
Manufacturers
1. Ducati 572
2. Yamaha 505
3. Honda 431
4. Aprilia 329
5. Suzuki 173
6. Bmw 141
7. Kawasaki 76
