Haga ban hands title to Honda's Edwards

The American Colin Edwards has been confirmed as World Superbike champion after the Japanese rider Noriyuki Haga lost his appeal against a ban over a failed drugs test. The Yamaha rider was yesterday suspended for three weeks and that will include the final round of the series at Brands Hatch this weekend.

The American Colin Edwards has been confirmed as World Superbike champion after the Japanese rider Noriyuki Haga lost his appeal against a ban over a failed drugs test. The Yamaha rider was yesterday suspended for three weeks and that will include the final round of the series at Brands Hatch this weekend.

Haga, second in the world standings, is now unable to make up the 32-point deficit on Castrol Honda's Edwards.

Haga failed a test for the banned drug ephedrine at the Kyalami round in South Africa on 2 April but his ban was suspended on appeal. That appeal against the decision of the International Motorcycling Federation has now been heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Haga's three-week ban and removal from the Kyalami results has been confirmed.

The ban has been reduced by seven days, the time Haga had already served when suspended by the CAS pending an inquiry. The three-week suspension, minus seven days served in early July, went into effect yesterday. The CAS reinstated Haga's second-place finish in South Africa, leaving him with 335 points, 32 behind Edwards. The next best rider, Australia's Troy Corser, has 285 points.

REVISED WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 C Edwards (US) Honda 367 points; 2 N Haga (Japan) Yamaha 335; 3 T Corser (Aus) Aprilia 285; 4 P Chili (It) Suzuki 232; 5 A Yanagawa (Japan) Kawasaki 228; 6 T Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 223; 7 B Bostrom (US) Ducati 168; 8 A Slight (NZ) Honda 142; 9 K Fujiwara (Japan) Suzuki 139; 10 G Lavilla (Sp) Kawasaki 115.