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Ben Spies moved 14 points behind World Superbike Championship leader Noriyuki Haga after his second victory of the day at Donington Park, while Haga suffered a heavy fall.

Rookie American Spies was the only rider to claim two podium finishes, with Max Biaggi - second in race one - falling from the runner-up spot on lap four of race two.

The Roman, who momentarily took the lead from Spies into turn one, then clashed with Alessandro Polita in his haste to rejoin the race and eventually finished 21st and last for Aprilia.

Haga, third in race one, held that same position early in race two before being promoted to second by Biaggi's error. But Haga held the position for less than a lap before a heavy crash through the fast Coppice turn, heading onto the back straight.

It was the same corner where Ducati Xerox predecessor Troy Bayliss lost the end of his finger in 2007 and Haga was hit repeatedly by his bike as he tumbled roughly to a halt. The Japanese was eventually able to walk slowly away, with the support of marshals, but his title lead over Spies has taken an even bigger battering.

The Yamaha star, who has suffered four non-scores of his own this season, rode into the distance to claim his tenth victory of the year by 6.622 seconds after backing off in the closing stages.

Five rounds, 10 races and a potential 250 points remain before the end of the 2009 WSBK season, starting next time out at Brno.

Behind Spies, a three-way fight for second between Haga's team-mate Michel Fabrizio, Stiggy Honda's Leon Haslam and Sterilgarda Ducati's Shane Byrne raged right to the flag - with a third Briton, Tom Sykes, close enough to pounce on any mistakes.

The last lap began with Haslam, Fabrizio, Byrne and Sykes covered by 1.4 seconds and with roughly equal track between them. Haslam rode a mistake free last lap to equal his best finish of the season so far, while Fabrizio returned to the podium after a lowly 12th in race one.

Byrne improved one place on his race one result, while Sykes scored solid points after his first DNF of the season in race one.

British Superbike championship leader Leon Camier fought his way from 17th to sixth for Airwaves Yamaha, with former British Superbike champion Ryuichi Kiyonari (Ten Kate Honda) narrowly separating Camier from team-mate James Ellison.

Ruben Xaus claimed a welcome ninth for BMW with wild-card Simon Andrews an excellent 10th - from just 26th on the grid - to finish as the top Kawasaki rider. A bad day for Suzuki saw the top GSX-R1000 of Yuki Kagayama cross the line in 13th position, with new team-mate Blake Young 17th.

Joining Haga and Biaggi in hitting the asphalt was Biaggi's team-mate Shinya Nakano, who high-sided spectacularly on the exit of the Old Hairpin while holding an early third, plus Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) and AMA star Jamie Hacking (PBM Kawasaki).

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's Jonathan Rea spun out of sixth at the final turn on lap two before finishing 15th.

Stiggy Honda's John Hopkins, an impressive eighth in only his third WSBK race earlier in the day, did not start race two due to pain from his healing injuries.

RACE ONE

Ben Spies held firm in the face of race long pressure from Max Biaggi to claim his ninth World Superbike victory of the season in race one at Donington Park.

Biaggi survived a last lap scare to claim his first podium since round two in Qatar.

Spies and Biaggi had held their grid positions into turn one at the start of the race, with world championship leader Noriyuki Haga leaping from sixth to third.

The Ducati Xerox star stuck with Spies and Biaggi for the opening laps, but then began to fade steadily backwards, sitting 2.5 seconds adrift by the halfway stage of the 23 laps and over 10 seconds behind at the finish.

Spies officially won by 7.156 seconds, but that was only because Biaggi's engine died as he exited the Fogarty Esses for the final time.

Assuming he was low on fuel, something which is still to be confirmed, the Roman frantically rocked his Aprilia RSV4 from side-to-side and was rewarded when it sprang back into life, allowing him to claim his third podium of the season.

Prior to that incident, Biaggi had shadowed Spies for the entire race. The former grand prix star gained ground on Spies' Yamaha through the latter part of the lap, while Spies pulled a few bikelengths out on the exit of the final turn and down Craner Curves.

Realising Biaggi was going the distance, Spies seemed to save a little extra for the last lap and was a relatively safe 0.688 seconds in front as the lap began and, even without Biaggi's problem, looked to have victory in the bag.

Spies will start race two a reduced 39 points behind Haga, who finished a lonely race eight seconds clear of fourth placed Leon Haslam. The Stiggy Honda rider earned the top Brit finish by overtaking countryman Shane Byrne with seven laps to go.

But the Sterilgarda Ducati rider refused to be shaken off and was just a few tenths behind Haslam at the line. Biaggi's Aprilia team-mate Shinya Nakano was sixth with Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's Jonathan Rea fighting his way forwards from 12th on the grid to seventh.

John Hopkins made an impressive return to a track he knows well from MotoGP by guiding his Stiggy machine from 13th on lap one to eighth, a tenth in front of Guandalini's Jakub Smrz, with former BSB champion Ryuichi Kiyonari completing the top 10 for Ten Kate Honda.

Carlos Checa and particularly Haga's team-mate Michel Fabrizio will have expected much better than 11th and 12th, while BSB leader and Donington wild-card Leon Camier salvaged 13th from 17th on the grid, having been just 21st at the end of lap one.

Airwaves Yamaha team-mate James Ellison crashed out of 10th on lap 14, while fellow Brit Tom Sykes suffered his first non-finish of the year when he fell from his R1 while holding seventh on lap seven. Ellison was uninjured despite a heavy landing in the gravel, but Sykes headed for the medical centre to have his back examined.

Crash.Net / Eurosport