Ben Spies bounced back from an opening race retirement to claim victory in race two at the FIM Superbike World Championship round at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic and close the gap to standings leader Nori Haga to seven points.
The American held off a spirited late charge by opening-race winner Max Biaggi after leading from the second turn to come home 0.213seconds ahead of the Italian.
The Yamaha WSB rider, who saw a coming together with Michel Fabrizio put paid to his hopes in race one, swept past Troy Corser on the first corner after the Australian had briefly snatched the lead and never looked back.
Italian Fabrizio finished in third, with Ten Kate Honda duo Jonathan Rea of Britain and Carlos Checa from Spain fourth and fifth. The Press Association
While Biaggi’s victory in race one could have been described as fortuitous, his ride to second in race two would suggest otherwise.
Despite a few problems dispatching Fabrizio for second, Biaggi’s harassment of Spies very nearly saw him come away with the double, further proof that he is capable to challenging his rivals in a straight fight.
“I’m quite pleased [with race two]. It’s not a victory but we proved that we have a lot of muscle and could fight with Fabrizio and Spies all the time. I stopped behind Fabrizio for quite a time, while Spies managed to pull away.
“In the end I passed him and went to catch Spies. I tried to brake very late, but I didn’t want to take him out like it was in the first race. We got a good result and it was a very good weekend here for Aprilia.” Yahoo Sports
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