Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Bayliss wins after three-way scrap at Monza

Troy Bayliss took his seventh win of the World Superbike season after a nail-biting scrap with Neil Hodgson and Colin Edwards.

It almost didn’t happen for Bayliss after he ran off at the first chicane on lap 10. Hodgson, Bayliss and Edwards went into the chicane side-by-side in a game of ‘who brakes last and hardest wins’. Hodgson and his HM Plant Ducati won the game as Bayliss and Edwards took to the slip road, having outbraked themselves.

Chili, who had been hunting the trio down lap by lap, took full advantage of the situation to get in amongst the action. But as Edwards and Bayliss hauled themselves back into the fray the fight proved too hot for Chili. Edwards and Bayliss soon caught back up with Hodgson to produce a thrilling finale to a magnificent race. After the race Chili marched angrily into race control complain that the two weren’t penalized for cutting the chicane, an offence which many riders thought can carry a 10 second stop-and-go penalty.

As the race drew to a close the three were all using every ounce of their engines and tyres as they struggled to get drive out of the turns. Bayliss almost highsided out of the first chicane but kept it pinned. Hodgson had his own moments and Edwards joined in with some lurid rear-wheel slides.

As the three hammered round the final lap it was Bayliss who got the best drive out of Ascari and managed to break Hodgson out of his slipstream as they powered down the main straight. That gave Bayliss all the advantage he needed as they entered the super fast Parabolica–the final turn at Monza. On the exit Hodgson was just too far back to get the draft and Bayliss took win number seven in front of Hodgson and Edwards.

After the race Hodgson said he thought he had won the race, after seeing Edwards and Bayliss take to the slip road. “As far as I was concerned I had won the race,” he said, “but then when I came into the pits I was told I was second.”

Colin Wright, Hodgson’s Team Manager, also seemed to think his man had won and followed Chili up to race control to protest. When asked if his protest had been upheld he said; “No, but it’s not over yet.” The latest news is that the result stands because the pair gained no advantage from cutting the chicane. But had the slip road not been there the pair would have both ended in the gravel.

Haga had to retire his Aprilia after only two laps with a broken water pump. Peter Goddard on the Benelli Tornado scored championship points on Benelli Sport’s return to World Superbike racing. Ben Bostrom’s L&M Ducati succumbed to clutch problems early in the race and his brother Eric Bostrom survived a battering from Borciani as they fought for position. Unfortunately Chris Walker, who was also in the scrap, ended up in the gravel after contact with Borciani ending his race. James Toseland brought the other HM Plant Ducati into fifth position.

Race One Results:

1. Troy Bayliss, Ducati 998 F02, 18 laps, 32:34.429
2. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 998 F01, -0.259 seconds
3. Colin Edwards, Honda RC51, -0.576
4. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, -6.422
5. James Toseland, Ducati 998F01, -18.860
6. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 998F02, -27.528
7. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R750, -38.264
8. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati 998RS, -38.642
9. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -38.745
10. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, -56.182
11. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, -64.410
12. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -88.651
13. Alessandro Valia, Ducati 996RS, -94.857
14. Peter Goddard, Benelli Tornado 900, -98.868
15. Mark Heckles, Honda RC51, -98.899
16. Christian Caliumi, Ducati 996RS, -1 lap
17. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -1 lap
18. Thierry Mulot, Ducati 996RS, -1 lap
19. Chris Walker, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -3 laps, DNF, crash
20. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, -3 laps, DNF, crash
21. Scrafino Foti, Ducati 996RS, -5 laps, DNF
22. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, -7 laps, DNF
23. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 998F02, -7 laps, DNF, mechanical
24. Broc Parkes, Ducati 998RS, -10 laps, DNF
25. Paolo Blora, Ducati 996RS, -10 laps, DNF
26. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia RSV1000, -16 laps, DNF, mechanical
27. Bertrand Stey, Honda RC51, -17 laps, DNF


More, from a HM Plant Ducati press release:

Hodgson shows the way around Monza

HM Plant Ducat/GSE Racing rider Neil Hodgson once more confirmed his status as a championship contender by taking an outstanding second-placed finish after a thrilling first race at the Monza Autodrome. His team-mate James Toseland scored his best result ever onboard a Superbike – an emphatic fifth place – to make it a superb start to the day’s racing for the team.

After starting from pole position, Hodgson remained at the head of the field for the majority of the 18-lap race. The 28-year-old former-British Superbike Champion put in an incredibly strong showing, and dominated the frantic three-way battle for the lead that was to rage throughout the 104km contest. Troy Bayliss eventually emerged victorious from the struggle, despite both he and third-placed Colin Edwards cutting out the Prima chicane. The pair of world champions outbraked themselves at the end of the 190mph start/finish straight and were forced to straight-line the section and make use of the run-off road.

“I really thought I’d won the race,” said Hodgson. “A memo had gone around before the race saying that a ten-second stop-and-go penalty would be imposed if you cut out the chicane. On the last lap, I didn’t really try to get by Troy because, as far as I was concerned, I only had to worry about Chili getting past me. It turns out that the penalty wasn’t imposed. I’m disappointed, but I can’t take anything away from everybody else because they rode really well to catch me back up. I’m on pole for race two, I’m not at any real power disadvantage anymore and I have these fantastic Dunlop race tyres. I’ll be able to give it 100% again and see if I can get that win.”

James Toseland rode a commanding race to collect 11 valuable championship points, finishing well ahead of many factory riders, including Ducati’s Ruben Xaus.

“That was amazing,” said Toseland. “I got a good start which put me up into fifth. I was expecting to have a bit of a scrap with Haga for that position until his bike packed up. I was determined to keep fifth place, so from there on in I just kept my head down and rode as hard as I could. It’s been a great day for the HM Plant Ducati team so far, and I want more of the same in race two.”