Noriyuki Haga has kept his dream of securing the World Superbike championship alive after picking up a brace of top four finishes from the penultimate meeting of the season at Vallelunga.
Although he now lies third in the standings, Haga will head to France just 33 points behind leader
James Toseland after the Ten Kate Honda rider fell in the second race, while Max Biaggi – who took a win and a second place in Italy – is four points ahead of the Japanese ace in what is now a three-way fight for the title.
Race one had a spectacular start as Yamaha team-mate
Troy Corser lost the front and crashed out on the first lap, with Haga himself almost going down before managing to move into third in front of Toseland.
Haga then produced a series of quick laps to close in on leading duo
Troy Bayliss and Biaggi. Having battled throughout the race with Bayliss, Haga was unable to make a move stick and would end the race fourth after losing out to Toseland in the closing stages.
Bayliss took an early lead in race two but Haga was quick to give chase, along with Biaggi. With Toseland crashing out, the fight for first place became a three-way battle between Bayliss, Haga and Biaggi until Biaggi squeezed past the Yamaha rider for second place on lap 13. From there on the positions remained the same until the chequered flag.
"Today was a bit disappointing for me with regards to the tyres," Haga reflected afterwards. "I used the same tyre in warm up as in the first race but in the race it didn't work as well as I'd hoped. I ended up focusing on my finishing position rather than the race win because the grip had gone. I chose to use my second bike for second race because the two bikes feel quite different. I found it to be better feeling with better engine delivery. In the middle of the race I tried to catch Bayliss but I was unable to and so had to settle for third and 16 valuable points.
"Next weekend at Magny-Cours is going to be crazy with everyone going for the win but I'm still confident and determined. I've reduced the gap between Toseland and me and I'm not giving up yet!"
