Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Do we really have to tell you who won the Superbike race?

Yes, you’ve guessed it, Troy Bayliss took win number ten in race one at the Lausitzring World Superbike meeting. For half the race it looked like Colin Edwards might be able to do enough to take another win, but Bayliss wore him down and passed him on lap 15.

The race had plenty of incidents in the early stages but toward the end the outcome became increasingly predictable.

Chris Walker failed to get his Kawasaki off the grid, it appeared his rear brake caliper had dropped off! There was no indication of contact with another rider.

On lap two Neil Hodgson lost the front end as he and Ruben Xaus tried to outbrake each other into a turn. It looked like Xaus’ Michelins could handle more pressure than Hodgson’s Dunlops; Hodgson lost the front end and slid gently into the grass. He rejoined the race but later retired.

Noriyuki Haga and Ben Bostrom had a big battle over fourth. Haga passed Bostrom hard on the brakes on lap three with his rear wheel in the air. He ran wide and Bostrom slipped back under him. Later in the race they swapped positions again, with Haga eventually winning the tussle as the race entered its second half.

Steve Martin scored a useful win on the Pirelli shod DFX Ducati, taking ninth after starting tenth on the grid. Gregorio Lavilla and James Toseland tussled for much of the race, arguing over seventh. Toseland on the HM Plant Ducati kept his head and eventually pulled clear to claim the position ahead of Lavilla on the Corona Suzuki.

First race results:

1. Troy Bayliss, Ducati 998F02, 40:06.073
2. Colin Edwards, Honda RC51, -0.651 seconds
3. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 998F02, -18.966
4. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia RSV1000, -23.481
5. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 998F02, -27.820
6. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, -35.642
7. James Toseland, Ducati 998F01, -40.514
8. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R750, -47.096
9. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, -47.527
10. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, -69.452
11. Broc Parkes, Ducati 998RS, -69.623
12. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, -72.906
13. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati 998RS, -85.097
14. Marco Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -93.351
15. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -96.265
16. Serafino Foti, Ducati 996RS, -1 lap
17. Mark Heckles, Honda RC51, -1 lap
18. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -1 lap
19. Thierry Mulot, Honda RC51, -1 lap
20. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, -6 laps, DNF
21. Peter Goddard, Benelli Tornado 900, -6 laps, DNF
22. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 998F02, -13 laps, DNF, crash
23. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 996RS, -15 laps, DNF
24. Chris Walker, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -24 laps, DNF, mechanical

More, from an HM Plant Ducati press release:

Toseland does the business in race one

HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing rider James Toseland was in good form in the first Superbike race at EuroSpeedway Lausitz. The 21-year-old Yorkshireman rode a well-judged and committed race that earned him an excellent seventh-placed finish and added nine more championship points to his already impressive total of 81. His team-mate Neil Hodgson was not quite so lucky, however. Although it may not have affected his current third place in the championship standings, a crash in the early stages of the race put paid to the 28-year-old Isle of Man-based rider’s hopes of another podium finish.

Hodgson had been running well in fourth place until a front-end slide on the second lap dropped his #100 HM Plant Ducati onto its side. Despite quickly remounting his stricken machine and rejoining the race, the bike was too badly damaged to make continuing worthwhile.

“It’s really frustrating to have crashed out so early, especially after going so well in qualifying,” explained Hodgson. “I’d opted for a fairly hard compound front tyre thinking that it would be better to have something in reserve for the final stages of the race. Unfortunately the conditions had changed prior to the race and it had become quite humid. This meant that the track was a little greasy. I could feel the front slipping about a bit on the warm-up lap, but obviously it was too late to do anything about it by then.

“It just folded on me as I went in to the corner and there was no way that I could save it with my knee. I kept the bike running, but when I got back on track I realised that the foot peg had snapped off and that the steering damper was broken. If I’d had any chance of making it back into the points I’d have given it a go, but I would have needed to do 1:40s and that just wasn’t possible with the bike in that kind of shape.”

With Hodgson out, it was down to James Toseland to give the HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing team something to celebrate. He did this with an extremely consistent ride, during which he successful held off the challenge of SBK veteran Gregorio Lavilla.

“I’m happy with the way things went in that race,” said Toseland. “I was putting in regular 1:41s without any problems at all. My next challenge is to get on the back of Chili and Bostrom and stay with them. Then I’ll almost be fighting for a podium place, which is my ultimate goal this season.”