Spies led early on in race one at Assen today, but Haga eventually came by and kept going. After playing with Leon Haslam for third, Ben Spies eventually made a last lap pass on Haga and closed the door, as he does so well. Haslam finished third and Tom Sykes, another Brit arrived fourth while Biaggi managed 5th.
In race 2, Spies crashed spectacularly on the first (or was that the second?) lap, his Yamaha cartwheeling itself to pieces in the gravel. This allowed Haga to make like Mat Mladin and pull away from the rest of the pack, setting a track fastest lap and winning easily. There was plenty of good racing behind him, at times 5 bikes fighting for second. Again Haslam followed Haga to the podium, taking a well deserved 2nd, with Smrz and Fabrizio (with a failing gearbox) close behind. Biaggi burned out his clutch on the start and retired on the first lap. Nori Haga is looking extremely comfortable on the Ducati, with smooth lines and record-setting speed. He now has a 60 point lead over Spies. That's a lot even for WSB. For Ben to stand a chance of winning the championship, he has to stay on the track, finish on the podium every race and Haga needs a little bad luck. Personally, I've always liked Haga and he deserves to be the 2009 WSB Champion. Go Nitro!
But you know what? Based on how Spies tackled AMA Superbike, even if he doesn't win this year ... he'll take it next year.
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