While somewhat forgotten in the midst of Max Biaggi and Aprilia's title success, Italian counterparts Ducati is celebrating easily its most lucrative World Superbike event of the season on home soil at Imola.
Twelve months on from scoring a double 1-2 around the talian circuit, Ducati went one better this time by finishing 1-2-3 in the opening race before following it up with another 1-2 in the second.
Although privateer riders Carloa Checa and Lorenzo Lanzi arguably stole the Ducati limelight, Noriyuki Haga was also instrumental in the manufacturer's strong results as he recorded second and third place finish.
Fresh from his win at the Nurburgring, it was another convincing performance by Haga as he continues to pitch for a 2011 deal on the back of Ducati's factory withdrawal.
“It wasn't easy and I'm really happy to have reached the podium twice, even if I couldn't win today. At this track the first corner is particularly narrow and that can make the first lap pretty dangerous but I got through it and made up some positions there, and then found a good rhythm in both races which meant I could start to catch up, finally reaching third, and then second.
“Of course it would have been even better to win but I would have needed a few more laps in order to do that. My congratulations go to Carlos, Lorenzo and Cal as they all rode extremely well, especially Carlos. A Ducati 1-2-3 and then a 1-2 - I'd say we can all be happy with that.”
Haga's results move him to within one point of fifth place Cal Crutchlow in the overall standings.
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