2007 – Before the race the main concern was tyre performance over the distance and all riders opted for the softer compound. The worries made everyone extremely cautious and the leading group in race 1, composed by Toseland, Bayliss and Corser seemed to run in slow motion, without anyone taking chances or trying to pull away. Towards half race Corser was the first to slow down due to tyre performances dropping and in the final stages Bayliss was able to leave Toseland behind, winning with a good margin. After the race Toseland declared that he pushed too hard in the first part and then he hadn’t any tyres left to follow the australian. In race two the same trio of Bayliss, Corser and Toseland set up in front, while Biaggi once more had problems in the first turns and lost vital positions (and time), finding himself trapped behind Haga and Xaus. Toseland went in the lead, but caution -as in race one- reigned and the Briton kept a fairly slow pace, with his rivals quiet behind him. James changed pace after seventeen laps, and only Bayliss was able to follow him, while behind them a small group of three riders: Biaggi, Corser and Haga, fought for third. Toseland’s pace was so good that Bayliss was never able to attack him in the closing stages. James won, and after only two race weekends had a 26 points-lead over the second in the standings, Biaggi.
2008 – In Phillip Island Bayliss took pole despite a fall that required him to take eight stitches in his left elbow. Definetely a troublesome year for Bayliss in his home track since he broke a collarbone in testing here in january. A troublesome start of the weekend also for Biaggi, who had to start 16th after a gear lever failure during the Superpole session. This raised eyebrows about the rules, as if a rider falls during Superpole, loses only one row in the starting grid, while for a failure he is dropped in 16th. At the first start there was a major problem with Fabrizio stalling on the front row. The Italian didn’t signal his problem and tried to move his bike with his feet. This resulted in a major accident: first David Checa hit him slightly on the left side, then soon afterwards Iannuzzo rammed Fabrizio from behind, ripping apart his boot. Iannuzzo lost control of his bike, went on the grass where he fell and his bike fell over him fracturing his arm. The race was red flagged, but before the bikes were back on the grid another major accident saw the Honda Ten Kate on the ground, maybe for the distraction caused by the waved flags on the left hander that leads to the hairpin. At the restart everything went well and Bayliss was able to take the lead and pull away. His only rival was Biaggi, who quickly recovered from the 16th spot and set in pursuit of Troy, but after fifteen laps the Italian fell at the hairpin and Bayliss won all alone. The second race was again a total Bayliss domination and…another fall for Biaggi, a nasty one. The italian blocked his front wheel at the end of the main straight, lost control of the bike and slid in the runoff area. His bike somersaulted and nearly hit him. The accident was very similar to the one that took Nagai’s life back in 1995 in Assen, but fortunately Biaggi was able to walk away with only minor injuries.
2009 – The new qualifying format made its first victims in the first race weekend in Phillip Island, when Noriyuki Haga was only thirteenth and Max Neukirchner just behind him. The good news were at the front: Ben Spies took pole at his first attempt, behind him Max Biaggi with the brand new Aprilia RSV4, then Jonathan Rea and Jakub Smrz, who completed an atypical front row. The start of the first race however scrambled the order right at the second corner, when Spies and Biaggi collided: the American took to the gravel, while Max lost only a couple of places. Mayhem continued two turns later, when Kyionari fell after another contact. This left Rea in the lead in front of Laconi and Haga, who was able to recover ten positions in only one lap. The trio set out in front but the situation was far from clear as Haga was able to snatch second at the hairpin and after a couple of laps Haga passed Rea at turn one to take the lead followed by Laconi, who passed the Honda rider after a couple of turns. In the meanwhile Neukirchner emerged from the pack and joined the leaders, snatching third from Rea at the fifth lap. Soon afterwards the Ten Kate rider made a small mistake which cost him several places and lost contact to the leading trio. Neukirchner was determined to fight for the win: he passed Laconi for second at the seventh lap and took the lead from Haga two laps later. It was soon clear that in the second part of the race the only ones able to fight for the win were Neukirchner and Haga, who carved a small gap over Laconi and Kagayama, who in turn were followed by Rea. The situation was then unchanged until the eighteenth lap, when Haga made his move at turn one and took the lead. He tried to pull away but Neukirchner was able to stay with him until the last lap, when he took the lead again on the main straight. Max was on the limith though and after a couple of small mistakes lost the rear on the left hander leading to the hairpin, allowing Haga to take the lead and the win a couple of turns later. There were no dramas at the start of the second race and Biaggi took the lead from Spies, but the American fought back and snatched it back on the outside of the second corner. Haga worked wonders once more and by the second lap was already third, passing his team-mate Fabrizio. The Japanese immediately pulled away from Michel, passed Biaggi, and set after Spies. Four laps into the race and Spies and Haga were already on their own, but as soon as Noriyuki challenged Ben the two lost some ground and Biaggi, Fabrizio and Haslam were able to catch up. Haga then tried to speed up the proceedings passing Spies and trying to pull away on the sixth lap. He managed to carve an advantage of half of a second in one lap, but Spies and Biaggi were soon back on his tail and the American took the lead on the eleventh lap. Haga was back on top on the thirteenth lap, but there was no hint he was able to leave Spies, while Biaggi fell back and soon was in the clutches of Fabrizio and Haslam. On the nineteenth lap Spies showed his true pace: he passed Haga at the first turn and immediately pulled away, going on to a solitary maiden win in front of the powerless Japanese. Behind them the fight for third was a last lap dash among Haslam, Biaggi, Fabrizio and Laconi. The final outcome favoured Haslam, while Biaggi had to take a trip on the gravel after a contact with Laconi.
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