Wrestling with a complete lack of grip in the opener, Corser (BMW) spent the majority of the 24-lapper in 10th position before eventually slipping to 12th, and in race two – armed with a different spec tyre – he improved five positions to finish a respectable seventh, just behind the Yamaha of James Toseland.

Corser remains seventh in the championship, but now just 1pt in arrears of the completely out of sorts Noriyuki Haga (Ducati).

“In the first race I really had zero grip after only five laps,” said Corser. “I had no confidence to attack any more, and I literally just rolled around the track till the end of the race.

“We changed the bike's set-up a little bit between the races, and we used the Diablo B rear tyre spec instead of the A spec as we had over the entire weekend. The consistency of this tyre was much better than in the first race.

“In the second race I was able to ride the bike. Unfortunately I lost a little of the initial grip in the middle of the corner. I was really quick in the first sectors, but could not really follow the other bikes at the top of the hill.

“This was a little frustrating. I tried to adjust over the course of the race and rode the bike completely differently to how I had over the whole weekend.”

Corser again fought a lone Aussie hand in South Africa, with Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki) still not up to the rigours of jousting with the championship elite as he continues to make a slow recovery from his Phillip Island knee injury.

Vermeulen went 18-16 at Kyalami, while Newcastle’s Broc Parkes (Honda) was 18th in race two after failing to finish the opener.

Race one was a flawless exhibition by a rejuvenated Fabrizio, who seized the lead from the start and was never headed in a 24-lap blitz, which included lowering his own lap record from 2009.

The Italian metered his lead over fellow Ducati rider Carlos Checa with precision, and the final winning margin was just over one second, with Haslam (Suzuki) third ahead of Max Biaggi (Aprilia) and Jonathan Rea (Honda).

An inexplicable loss of grip in race two saw Fabrizio only finish eighth, and this time it was a double act putting on a show at the front as Rea and Haslam pulled out all stops in a stirring battle.

The arm wrestle was eventually settled in favour of Haslam, who passed Rea two laps from home and stayed in front to claim his third win of the year. Biaggi claimed the final spot on the dais ahead of polesitter Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) and Checa, all five separated by just 1.479secs.

“The second race was one of the best races I’ve ever been involved in and definitely one of the hardest,” said Haslam. “Jonny and I had a real ding-dong and it was bar-to-bar stuff for almost the whole race. I passed him a few times, but he always got me back and the longer the race went on I could feel him working out where I'd pass and how he'd stop me.

“In the end, I had to pass at a different place and this time I made it stick and held on to the flag. To win a race like that is quite an emotional thing, and I have to give a big thank you to the whole team for all their work this weekend.

“After the drama of race two, it’s hard to remember what happened in race one. I wasn't completely confident in the front end, so could not push hard enough to catch Michel Fabrizio and Carlos Checa, but I was happy to get on the podium.”

Haslam extended his championship lead to 15pts (222 to 207) at Kyalami, with Rea and Checa now deadlocked on 141, ahead of Toseland (125).

Eugene Laverty (Honda) came out swinging in supersport and powered to his third successive win, and his fourth of the year.

Second place rider Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) now leads the championship, as previous leader Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki) was only fifth.

Briton Chaz Davies was third at Kyalami on his Triumph.

KYALAMI WORLD SUPERBIKE RESULTS

Race one: 24 laps

1 Michel Fabrizio, Italy, Ducati 39:48.343

2 Carlos Checa, Spain, Ducati +1.098secs

3 Leon Haslam, Great Britain, Suzuki +5.049

4 Max Biaggi, Italy, Aprilia +6.974

5 Jonathan Rea, Great Britain, Honda +13.710

6 Leon Camier, Great Britain, Aprilia +13.848

7 James Toseland, Great Britain, Yamaha +16.064

8 Cal Crutchlow, Great Britain, Yamaha +16.231

9 Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic, Ducati +16.580

10 Sylvain Guintoli, France, Suzuki +23.100

12 Troy Corser, Australia, BMW +25.504

18 Chris Vermeulen, Australia, Kawasaki +44.030

DNF Broc Parkes, Australia, Honda +13 laps

Fastest lap and new record: Fabrizio: 1:38.170 (previous record: Fabrizio – 1:38.548)

Race two: 24 laps

1 Haslam 39:52.870

2 Rea +0.522

3 Biaggi +0.601

4 Crutchlow +0.901

5 Checa +1.479

6 Toseland +13.324

7 Corser +13.740

8 Fabrizio +14.250

9 Smrz +15.190

10 Noriyuki Haga, Japan, Ducati +16.790

16 Vermeulen +33.710

18 Parkes +55.529

Fastest lap: Rea – 1:38.658

WORLD SUPERBIKE STANDINGS (AFTER ROUND SIX OF 13):

1 Haslam 222

2 Biaggi 207

3= Rea 141

3= Checa 141

5 Toseland 125

6 Haga 106

7 Corser 105

8 Fabrizio 95

9 Crutchlow 86

10 Camier 82

19 Vermeulen 5

Next round: Miller Motorsports, America, May 29-31