Motorcycling: Spies closes gap to Haga

Ben Spies is now just 14 points behind FIM World Superbike Championship leader Noriyuki Haga after scoring a double victory at Donington Park yesterday. Spies was the only rider to claim two podium finishes with Haga suffering a heavy fall in race two and Max Biaggi – second in race one – falling from the runner-up spot on lap four of race two to come in last.

Biaggi, who momentarily took the lead from Spies into turn one, then clashed with Alessandro Polita in his haste to rejoin the race and eventually finished 21st.

Haga, third in race one, moved up to second after Biaggi's error but held the position for less than a lap before he crashed heavily through the fast Coppice turn, his bike hitting him repeatedly as he tumbled to a halt.

The Japanese was eventually able to walk away with the support of marshals, but his title lead over Spies is now all but gone. The American Yamaha star then rode into the distance to claim his second victory of the day and 10th of the year by 6.622sec after backing off in the closing stages.

Behind Spies, the Briton Leon Haslam emerged triumphant from a three-way fight for second, while Haga's Ducati Xerox team-mate Michel Fabrizio returned to the podium in third after a lowly 12th in race one. Shane Byrne improved one place on his race one result to come fourth, while Tom Sykes finished fifth.

Spies said he was happy to be closing in on the overall lead but admitted he could not help but think about the potential advantage he would have had were it not for his earlier problems this season.

Spies is now the closest he has been to Haga since the end of the second event at Qatar but he is aware the championship could have a substantially different look to it if he had not been hampered by four retirements and various other delays.

"The title is possible again now," Spies said. "It is very unfortunate for Nori, because that was a bad crash. We have to capitalise when things go wrong, because we've had our fair share of bad luck too. It is good that we are within striking distance, but if it wasn't for the problems we've had then we'd be having a really great year.

"I can smell the lead and it is possible that after one weekend we could be leading, so we have to keep doing what we've been doing, without the mistakes."

Valentino Rossi can set a new mark for the most grand prix wins following his 100th victory in Saturday's Dutch MotoGP race, record holder Giacomo Agostini has said. Agostini won 123 races from 1965-76, a mark the 67-year-old believes is well within Rossi's reach. "It is a distant target but not that distant. Someone like Rossi, with a bit of determination, could even get there," Agostini said. Britain's James Toseland came in a creditable sixth.