Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati's Ruben Xaus (Photo: GMB Racing) » More Photos

Race 2: The second race of the day saw a sensational and unexpected 1-2 win for the private Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati team. The 25 points went to Ruben Xaus, who took his first win of the year, ahead of Max Biaggi, who capitalized on a mistake by Bayliss to grab the second podium slot. Fourth and fifth went to the two Yamahas of Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser, with Nitro-Nori making amends for his disappointing race 1. Lorenzo Lanzi again went well to finish sixth, while Neukirchner was unable to repeat his brilliant race 1 win. With his eighth place finish Carlos Checa has now been overtaken by Neukirchner in the points standings.

Ruben Xaus: "It was a nice win but at the beginning it was hard. We had three starts today and the last one was the worst! I think the clutch slipped a bit and I lost a little time. I wanted to recover because I knew that Corser and Bayliss would pull away. For the first 10 laps I had a lot of movement at the rear. Then my teammate attacked me twice, I closed the door and with ten laps to go I started to do 37s, 37s, 37s. Today my mechanics did an incredible set-up and an incredible job, a big thanks to Team Sterilgarda Go Eleven!"

Max Biaggi: "I think it was a pretty good race. I was so fed up after race 1 when Fabrizio hit me at the back and took me out. Too bad, I didn't expect that. I think this year is the most difficult or unlucky of my career, but I have to say that in Superbike we always have a second opportunity with race 2. I made a good start from row 2 and was in the top 2 or 3 all the time. In some parts I was losing and in others I was gaining, then at the end of the race my tire went completely off and although my teammate slowed, it wasn't enough for me."

Troy Bayliss: "Honestly I think this has been one of the hardest days of my career. I felt pretty good all weekend, but we thought the hard tire in the first race could have been the problem. We changed that for race 2 and it was a bit better, but towards the end I was struggling and the back was coming round. Hats off to the guys, they rode brilliantly but I improved my points lead. I suppose that's what it's all about but I would have loved two wins today."

Results: 1. Xaus R. (ESP) Ducati 1098 RS 08 39'19.710 (154,734 kph); 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Ducati 1098 RS 08 1.035; 3. Bayliss T. (AUS) Ducati 1098 F08 4.158; 4. Haga N. (JPN) Yamaha YZF-R1 5.466; 5. Corser T. (AUS) Yamaha YZF-R1 6.759; 6. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098 RS 08 13.468; 7. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R1000 15.221; 8. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 16.687; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098 RS 08 17.030; 10. Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R1000 17.681; 11. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098 F08 21.356; 12. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R1000 28.676; 13. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 31.304; 14. Lavilla G. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 32.339; 15. Nakatomi S. (JPN) Yamaha YZF-R1 33.716; 16. Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF-R1 34.171.

Points (after 8 of 14 rounds): Riders - 1. Bayliss (Ducati) 259; 2. Neukirchner (Suzuki) 210; 3. Checa (Honda) 207; 4. Haga (Yamaha) 191; 5. Corser (Yamaha) 185; 6. Nieto (Suzuki) 151; 7. Xaus (Ducati) 148; 8. Biaggi (Ducati) 117; 9. Fabrizio (Ducati) 111; 10. Kiyonari (Honda) 94; etc. Manufacturers - 1. Ducati 323; 2. Yamaha 284; 3. Suzuki 257; 4. Honda 226; 5. Kawasaki 64.