Even more impressive is that Haga clinched the double win despite still recovering from the broken collarbone he sustained two weeks earlier in the USA.

In the opening leg, the Japanese contender capitalised on his front row start and fought off Ducati’s Troy Bayliss to take the top spot of the podium. He then battled with team-mate Troy Corser in race two for the victory. Although Corser took the lead on lap 15, Haga was awarded the eventual win (based on position after 14 laps) as the race was red-flagged due to rain.

Meanwhile, HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Carlos Checa continued his run of success in the HANNspree Superbike World Championship at the Nurburgring with two top five finishes.



Despite starting from the front row of the grid, the 35-year-old Spaniard made two poor starts in the day’s races, and was unable to make up the lost positions. However, 22 points maintains his second place in the overall standings. He is now just 39 points adrift of current series leader Bayliss.



Checa’s HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari also had a positive day in Germany with two more points-scoring finishes. The 25-year-old Japanese rider clinched 12th and 11th places in races one and two respectively and is now tenth in the series overall.



The third HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider Kenan Sofuoglu had less luck at the Nurburgring. The young Turkish rider was forced to retire from the first race and could only manage a 22nd place finish in race two. Sofuoglu is now 18th in the series overall.



Meanwhile, HANNspree Honda Althea’s Roberto Rolfo scored 16th and 17th positions in the day’s two races. The 28-year-old Italian is still recovering from the broken collarbone he sustained in a mountain biking accident while training several weeks ago.



Race one – result
1 Haga N. Yamaha YZF-R1 39'19.427
2 Bayliss T. Ducati 1098 F08 +2.025
3 Neukirchner M. Suzuki GSX-R1000 +2.792
4 Corser T. Yamaha YZF-R1 +5.458
5 Checa C. Honda CBR1000RR +10.225
6 Xaus R. Ducati 1098 RS 08 +10.462
7 Fabrizio M. Ducati 1098 F08 +17.018
8 Nieto F. Suzuki GSX-R1000 +20.520
9 Tamada M. Kawasaki ZX-10R +21.162
10 Muggeridge K. Honda CBR1000RR +22.650
12 Kiyonari R. Honda CBR1000RR +25.555
16 Rolfo R. Honda CBR1000RR +42.157
RET Sofuoglu K. Honda CBR1000RR



Race two – result
1 Haga N. Yamaha YZF-R1 27'26.594
2 Corser T. Yamaha YZF-R1 +0.150
3 Neukirchner M. Suzuki GSX-R1000 +5.316
4 Bayliss T. Ducati 1098 F08 +7.651
5 Checa C. Honda CBR1000RR +7.951
6 Fabrizio M. Ducati 1098 F08 +9.027
7 Biaggi M. Ducati 1098 RS 08 +9.420
8 Xaus R. Ducati 1098 RS 08 +9.916
9 Nieto F. Suzuki GSX-R1000 +12.862
10 Laconi R. Kawasaki ZX-10R +13.559
11 Kiyonari R. Honda CBR1000RR +13.960
17 Rolfo R. Honda CBR1000RR +24.421
21 Sofuoglu K. Honda CBR1000RR +33.107


Standings after seven rounds
1 T. Bayliss 194

2 C. Checa 166

3 M. Neukirchner 144

4 F. Nieto 126

5 N. Haga 122

6 T. Corser 121

7 R. Xaus 92

8 M. Fabrizio 87

9 M. Biaggi 85

10 R. Kiyonari 80

16 K. Sofuoglu 32

19 R. Rolfo 20