Max broke his collarbone when he was brought down by
Carlos Checa in race one at the Spanish circuit, but proved he was far from a 'broken man' by taking his first podium since 2005 next time out at Assen - then made history for Germany during a thrilling opening race at Monza.
The 25-year-old, competing in his fourth WSBK season, battled for victory from start to finish - eventually holding off Yamaha's
Noriyuki Haga by just 0.058secs as the lead changed hands countless times during the 18 laps.
"I am so happy to win my first ever World Superbike race and proud and happy to be the first German rider to do so," beamed the Alstare Suzuki rider. "It's a great feeling and I'm sure that there'll be much more interest in Germany now. Although I was a bit nervous before the race, I was not nervous in it or at the end. It was easy to be in front in race one and my bike felt very fast on the straights and good in the corners. I knew exactly where Haga was and knew what I had to do to beat him."
But Neukircher's day was far from over and he went on to play an equally starring role in race two, battling with Haga and Honda's
Ryuichi Kiyonari for the chance of a dream double.
Neukirchner was third entering the final turn, but with Haga passing Kiyonari for the lead, Max got the best exit of the three - allowing him to surge past Kiyonari and finish just 0.009secs from Haga!
"I used the same bike and set up for race two, but Haga was a bit quicker in the corners," said Max, who admitted he was distracted by smoke spewing from the Japanese star's machine, the result of Haga's fender making contact with his rear tyre.
"I was behind him when I suddenly saw a big cloud of smoke coming from his bike. I thought his engine had blown up and waited for him to slow down or pull over, but he kept on going!" he said. "After half a lap or so, there was no more smoke. I attacked him hard in the last couple of laps, but he just about managed to outdrag me to the line and take the win."
