Off the line it was Corser who got the hole shot ahead of Bayliss and Haga while Xaus went backwards from the front row. It looked like Corser was going to pull away but he never got to make the break. Xaus was on the move and on lap four he took Bayliss and Haga followed him through. One lap later he showed Corser his front wheel and then made a move on him which stuck.
Bayliss was struggling to pass Haga and as he went under him he had a moment which put him wide and lost him the place. Haga was on a charge and managed to pass both Corser and Xaus for the lead on lap seven.
He held P1 for two laps but the Spaniard on his home turf wasn't going to be beaten and re passed him for the lead. Xaus then pulled the pin and extended his lead to 1.997secs over Haga.
As in the tradition in Spain Xaus stopped to light some fireworks but was unable to restart his machine. He had to get pulled back to the pit lane by photographer Kel Edge on his paddock scooter!
WSBK race (1) results – Valencia:
1.
Ruben Xaus
2.
Noriyuki Haga
3.
Troy Bayliss
4.
Troy Corser
5.
James Toseland
6.
Lorenzo Lanzi
7.
Michel Fabrizio
8. Max Biaggi
9. Josh Brookes
10. Roberto Rolfo
