Haslam and Checa share the spoils at WSBK opener

Briton Leon Haslam and Spaniard Carlos Checa have split the honours in a dramatic round one of the Superbike World Championship at Victoria's Phillip Island circuit.

History was created in race one when Haslam (Suzuki) defeated Italian Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) in the closest finish in 23 years of WSBK action, while Checa (Ducati) became the first privateer to win a race since 2008.

It was a mixed day for the Australians, with Troy Corser guiding his BMW to ninth and seventh places, while Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki) made a horror WSBK return after four years in MotoGP by crashing out of both races.

Vermeulen's second fall was particularly brutal, which left him with badly bruised left hip.

Corser was satisfied with his performance, especially his improvement in race two.

"I had a good start in the first race and gained a couple of positions," said Corser. "Unfortunately the tyre dropped quite quickly. Edge grip got worse and worse. It was just about staying on the bike.

"We changed the position of the bike a little bit before the start of the second race. The grip was a lot better immediately, and it was easier to do consistently good lap times. I could push and fight in the second race.

"Compared to James Toseland's Yamaha (who he was dicing with), I lost a little bit of initial acceleration and a little bit on the top end. To make the pass I had to go in a little harder than I wanted. The bike was consistent in the end."

Vermeulen wasn't the only rider to part ways with his motorcycle, with a whopping total of 22 crashes over the three-day event - Spaniard Ruben Xaus' four misdemeanours on his BMW leading the way.

After round one of 13, Haslam leads the championship on 45pts from Fabrizio (36), Checa (34), Noriyuki Haga (Ducati, 27), Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki, 23) and Jonathan Rea (Honda, 23).

Corser is eighth on 16pts, while Vermeulen will have to wait until round two in Portugal on March 28 to open his account.

In race one Haslam, who started from pole position, was stalked all the way by Fabrizio and Haga, but was seemingly on track for victory before running wide at Turn 10 on the final lap.

That intensified the battle between him and Fabrizio, but the 26-year-old managed to outlast his rival by the smallest margin in world superbike history -- 0.004secs.

Previously, the closest finish was Carl Fogarty's 0.005sec victory over Colin Edwards at Monza in 1999.

"I didn't know I had won until three-quarters of the way round the warm down lap," said Haslam. "My strategy was to sit down behind these guys (Fabrizio and Haga) and have a go at the end. But it didn't work out like that.

"I got a good start and kept checking out my lap times. I just then smoothed it off and try to break them a few times, but it just wasn't going to happen.

"On the last lap I managed to get my head down and really push, until I made a mistake at the last right-hander.

"I knew Fabrizio was right there, but we managed to get my first ever win so I'm over the moon."

Haslam became the 10th Briton to win a WSBK race, and it was Suzuki's first victory since 2008.

Haga, who was racing under some duress after a high speed crash in this morning's warm-up session, completed the 22-lapper in third, with Rea coming out best in a multi-rider scrum for fourth position ahead of Max Biaggi (Aprilia), Guintoli and Checa.

Australians Andrew Pitt (BMW) and Josh Brookes (Honda) were 15th and 19th respectively.

As well as Vermeulen, other riders to hit the terra firma included Yamaha duo James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow.

In race two it was vintage Checa, as he made a six-spot improvement on his opening result.

The former 500cc grand prix winner timed his run to perfection, passing Haslam with only two corners to go before putting up the shutters.

The victory was Checa's third in WSBK since he switched over to the production bike-based championship in 2008.

That was also the last year that a privateer managed to rise above the factory presence in WSBK, when Xaus won on a Ducati at Misano.

After a modest start, Checa finally joined the front-running quartet of Haslam, Fabrizio, Haga and Guintoli about half race distance, and from there it was a matter of jockeying for position in preparation for the final frantic run home.

"That was one of the best races in my life," said Checa. "Sometimes you must calculate very well and make a clean pass. I took care a lot when I did, and in the end it worked quite well."

Haga eventually dropped off the pace to finish fifth, and just 0.837secs separated the top four at the end of the 22-lapper. Fabrizio was third from Guintoli.

Rea was sixth, forced to slice his way back through the pack after running off at Turn Four on lap one, with Biaggi eighth.

Brookes and Pitt were 14th and 15th.

In world supersport, Irishman Eugene Laverty romped to a crushing start to finish victory on his Honda.

Laverty's 21-lap blitz saw him a 4.359sec winner over Kawasaki's Joan Lascorz, with 2007 world champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) claiming the final spot on the podium.

Japan's Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki) was also heavily involved in the stirring battle for second, but crashed at Turn Four with two laps to go. He remounted to finish the event in 11th.

But Laverty certainly didn't make any mistakes, and if he wasn't already the championship favourite before today, his irresistible form in the season-opener has now made sure of it.

David Salom (Triumph) and Fabien Foret (Kawasaki) completed the top five, with 15 riders completing the distance. Australia isn't represented in this year's world supersport title.

There will be a 30-minute highlights package of the opening round on SBS at 12.30pm on Sunday, March 7.

Click on the following link for full world superbike and supersport results from Phillip Island.