Round 5 - DoningtonSunday Jun 28 2009Round 5 - Donington

XAVIER SIMEON POWERS THE DUCATI 1198 TO THE TOP STEP OF THE PODIUM; BERETTA SEVENTH

Donington Park (UK) Sunday 28th June – Xavier Simeon nails Donington, taking his first win of the season and consolidating his championship lead. A strong result for Daniele Beretta too who finished in seventh.
A perfect race for Xavier Simeon. The Belgian rider was at the top of the timesheets all weekend and repeated that result on race day. Careful at the start, he preferred to let Fores lead and avoided risks at the first corner. Having got past his rival on the long downhill straight, Simeon then began to build an advantage and maintained a good lead until he crossed the finish line on board the Ducati 1198. Xavier increases his championship lead and now holds an 11-point advantage over Claudio Corti who was second in today’s race.

XAVIER SIMEON – “It was the logical conclusion to a perfect weekend where we have been fastest in each session. I was careful at the start because I didn’t want to run any risks of contact at the first corner but after a few hundred metres I was able to get past Fores. I immediately did all I could to build an advantage. After four second place finishes the win was what we needed and I dedicate it to Ducati, to the team, to my family and to everyone that believes in me. We are leading the championship but there’s still a long way to go until Portimao.”

Daniele Beretta rode a good race, making up somewhat for a difficult qualifying session. The Italian rider got past several riders at the start and spent the rest of the race in the second group, separated from the frontrunners by a few seconds. The battle against Black and Shouten took longer than expected but Daniele’s determination made the difference. With the seventh place taken today Beretta remains in sixth position in the general classification.

DANIELE BERETTA – “It’s a shame I started so far back on the grid because we could have been looking at the podium today. I made up places at the start but it wasn’t easy to get past Black and Shouten. Once I passed them Baz was too far ahead and I couldn’t do any more. I’m disappointed because the bike was great today, I’ll be doing my best to get to the podium at Brno.”

Race result:
1.Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) in 18’54’’713 in an average of 153,161 km/h;
2.C.Corti (Suzuki) in 1’’600;
3.M.Berger (Honda) in 2’’110;
4.J.Fores (Kawasaki) in 2’’522;
5.S.Barrier (Yamaha) in 3’’433;
6.L.Baz (Yamaha) in 5’’596;
7.Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) in 9’’556….

Classification:
1.Xavier Simeon 105 points;
2.C.Corti 94;
3.M.Berger 82;
4.J.Fores 64;
5.S.Barrier 54;
6.Daniele Beretta 45…