Michel Fabrizio has won his first World Superbike Championship victory at Monza after Ben Spies dramatically slowed on the final lap of the race whilst leading.
The American looked set for victory heading into the final lap of the race, but was forced to coast across the finish line in 15th when his Yamaha slowed down suddenly through the Parabolica. Yahoo! Eurosports
In what had already been an epic Superbike battle, Spies had looked on for the victory until he rounded the Parabolica just seconds before the chequered flag, and his Yamaha Racing machine suddenly slowed right down.
Fabrizio led until Lap five, when a mistake allowed Haga and a closing Spies through, with the American rookie passing the Japanese veteran over the line into the following lap.
Spies set about to give himself a bit of a lead, while the two team-mates beat each other up behind, Fabrizio emerging as the quickest, and holding second place despite continued pressure from Haga.
As the pair caught up to the leader, Fabrizio made a move on the straight as they headed into the penultimate lap, and although he made the pass, Spies quickly forced him wide and pushed his way back into the lead half a lap later.
“I was going well but then I had a bit of a problem halfway through - I touched with Ben and had problems with my gearbox after that. But I am happy with this result today.” Sunday Sun
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