Nori Haga is the champion in waiting if ever there was one and his chances are better this season than probably ever before. I for one would love to see him get the championship if for no other reason than the thrills he has given us over the years.

Last weekend, at Valencia, Nori threw down the gauntlet well and truly with an impressive couple of wins taking his points tally to 135 so far this season and 40 points ahead of his nearest rival Ben Spies.

Nori was able to get away from the pack early in both races and had comfortable wins as a result.

Ben Spies who so far has been the golden boy had an unfortunate off in the first race at turn one on the ninth lap and therefore failed to score any points in that race. Spies and Haga did have a coming together in race two which left Spies with a bent brake lever but he still managed to finished second.

The Brit Pack continue to be impressive – Tom Sykes qualified poorly but managed to finish 7th and 10th; Leon Haslem scored two 5th positions and goes into the next round 5th in the championship. Leon’s achievements are impressive on two counts – he is riding for a rookie team in the championship and he was the top finishing Honda in both races, ahead of the factory team riders.

John Hopkins joined in the fun on his first outing on a Superbike and I thought did a good job to come 11th and 12th, also beating the Honda factory teams in race one.

Overall it was an impressive weekend for Xerox Ducati with both of their riders sharing the spoils as a newly-bearded Fabrizio took a second and a third position.

Results courtesy of www.worldsbk.com

Standings after three rounds:

1. Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 135
2. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 95
3. Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 65
4. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 60
5. Leon Haslam Honda GBR 58
6. Regis Laconi Ducati FRA 56
7. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 54
8. Tom Sykes Yamaha GBR 47
9. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 35
10. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 33
11. Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 32
12. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 31
13. Shinya Nakano Aprilia JPN 27
14. Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 26
15. Troy Corser BMW AUS 23

Valencisa Race Results:

Race 1:
1 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 36’44.766 (150,408 kph)
2 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 3.677
3 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 3.959
4 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 4.210
5 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 13.824
6 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 14.562
7 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 15.155
8 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 16.316
9 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 20.361
10 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 23.878
11 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 30.902
12 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 31.298
13 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 32.660
14 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 42.156
15 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 43.040
16 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 45.204
17 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 52.023
18 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 52.474
19 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 55.775
20 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 56.202
RET 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R
RET 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR
RET 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R
RET 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR
RET 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR

Race 2:
1 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 36’46.927 (150,261 kph)
2 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 5.105
3 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 6.386
4 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 6.573
5 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 14.075
6 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 17.333
7 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 19.207
8 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 20.697
9 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 21.015
10 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 22.581
11 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 22.604
12 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 23.952
13 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 29.082
14 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 29.277
15 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 32.384
16 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 35.125
17 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 38.344
18 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 39.161
19 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 39.374
20 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 49.904
21 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 52.631
22 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 52.966
23 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 53.196
24 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 53.491
25 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’19.946
RET 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R