Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

World Superbike Race Two Results:

1. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03, 16 laps, 32:57.759
2. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 0.466 second
3. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 7.799 seconds
4. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS
5. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS
6. Leon Haslam, Ducati 998RS
7. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
8. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02
9. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1
10. John Reynolds, Suzuki GSX-R1000
11. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS
12. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
13. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS
14. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS
15. Alex Gramigni, Yamaha YZF-R1
16. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS
17. Stefan Nebel, Suzuki GSX-R1000
18. Robert Menzen, Suzuki GSX-R1000
19. Gianmaria Liverani, Yamaha YZF-R1
20. Karl Truchsess, Yamaha YZF-R1

22. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02, -2 laps, DNF
23. Luca Pedersoli, Ducati 998RS, -2 laps, DNF

Fastest Lap: Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 2:02.649


More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist:

SUPERB SIXTH FOR TROY!

Troy took a superb sixth place in the first Superbike race at Assen today and followed it up with ninth in the second 16-lapper. Troy and the Foggy Petronas FP1 team were understandably pleased with their result in race one and also with consistency of their new engine. Towards the end of the first race, Troy felt that the bike was losing power, but a post-race check revealed nothing, so Troy used the same bike in race two. But almost from the start of that race, the bike didn’t perform as well as it had done in the first race and Troy couldn’t push as hard. In the end, Troy rode as hard as he could and brought the bike home in ninth. Race one was won by Spaniard Ruben Xaus with Hodgson’s second place (and 20 points) in enough for him to clinch the title. Third went Frankie Chili (Ducati), ahead of James Toseland (Ducati), Chris Walker (Ducati) and then Troy. The second race featured a tremendous three-way battle between Xaus, Hodgson and Gregorio Lavilla (Suzuki). When Lavilla’s tyres faded at the three-quarter distance, Xaus and Hodgson went at it hammer and tongs to the flag. When Xaus made the smallest of errors, Hodgson took his chance and ran out the winner by six tenths of a second. Lavilla took third, with Laconi (Ducati) fourth, Chili (Ducati) fifth and Leon Haslam (Ducati) sixth.

TROY Race 1: 6th, Race 2: 9th
That was probably one of our better weekends of the year and I was happy because the bike ran more consistently then it has done all season. The new engine mods are an improvement and the water temperature stayed constant. After Clementi and Haslam got past, I relaxed a bit and I think that helped me ride the bike better. I then sized them up and was able to pass them to take sixth. Towards the end, I felt that bike wasn’t at 100% and asked my team to check it, but they said all was OK, so we used the same bike But it didn’t work as well and in the end, I just rode round as hard as I could and grabbed as many points as possible.


More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Corser shows Foggy PETRONAS Racing progress at Assen

Carl Fogarty heaped praise on his Foggy PETRONAS Racing team following a weekend of sustained progress at round ten of the World Superbike championship at Assen, The Netherlands.

Four times World Superbike champion Foggy saw Australian rider Troy Corser clinch a thrilling sixth place in the first race and follow that up with ninth place in race two, won by new world champion Neil Hodgson. Troy’s team-mate James Haydon was declared unfit after suffering a hand injury in a qualifying crash.

Carl said: “It is nice to get a result like that at Assen, where there are so many British fans and which was always a special place for me as a racer. Troy’s top six was probably better than we could have hoped for at this stage of the project. He rode a great race and the fact that his bike was more consistent, and running cooler, shows that there is a lot more to come next year. Today was great for the team who have worked hard all year and never complain.

“I am pleased for Neil Hodgson. I know what it’s like to win a world title here, which is like a home from home. He will just feel relieved at the moment as he has been under pressure all year because he was expected to win. He can now enjoy the last few races, although I don’t think the fact that you are a world champion ever sinks in.”

Troy said: “This weekend has given everyone a lift and shows that we are making progress. The sixth place in the first race was what I thought we were capable of going into this round. I knew I had a big gap behind me and that I didn’t have to push too early. So I sat there in eighth and saved the tyres a little bit. With two laps to go I upped the pace and, when Clementi missed a gear in the final chicane of the penultimate lap I was able to out-draught him down the straight and take him going into turn one. Then I got right on the back of Leon and, coming out of the hairpin, I knew I was quicker than him through the second chicane. The bike ran consistently thoughout that race and the temperature stayed consistent. My Michelin tyres were also good, sliding a little but, again, consistently.

“The second race was more difficult as the bike did not feel the same and was dropping off throughout. The same riders that I could catch in the first race were just pulling away as I had lost a bit of torque.”

James said: “I had cortisone and ant-inflammatory injections last night but was still in agony this morning and there was no way that I can race. I am gutted because I love Assen and there are so many British fans. I had been really hoping I would be able to go out on a high at the end of this season.”


More, from a press release issued by HM Plant Ducati:

Walker carries torch after Toseland retires

Today’s second Superbike World Championship race at Assen was a difficult one for both HM Plant Ducati riders. James Toseland was forced to retire due to tyre problems and Chris Walker showed determination and true grit to finish in eighth place, despite riding while injured.

As the sun shone at the Dutch circuit, both Toseland and Walker made reasonably good starts to the 16-lap race, slotting into sixth and eighth place respectively. As the battle out front raged between the new Superbike World Champion, Neil Hodgson, Ruben Xaus and Gregorio Lavilla, Toseland got his head down and concentrated on closing down Regis Laconi and Pier Francesco Chili.

Toseland caught and passed Regis Laconi on lap eight to move up to fifth place and make sure he didn’t lose sight of the leading quartet of riders. The 22-year-old rider then managed to pass Chili on lap ten to move up to fourth place and set his sights on the podium position he narrowly missed out on in the first race.

Unfortunately for Toseland, his rear tyre began to disintegrate on lap 13 of 16 and he was forced to retire from the race. Chris Walker came home in a respectable eighth place – a great effort considering the injuries he was carrying.

Down but not out, Toseland is already looking forward to the next round of the championship: “Obviously I’m disappointed that my tyre went off but these things can happen to any rider. Everything was going so well out there and I’m convinced that I would have made it on to the podium, given the opportunity. My thoughts are already on the next round.”

Chris Walker added vital championship points to his tally by finishing the second race at Assen. “I did the best I could out there and despite 110% effort, I just wasn’t able to match the pace of the leading riders. It’s not often that I am glad when a race is over, but I couldn’t wait for the chequered flag today. Now I have to rest and get myself fit again for the next round.”


More, from a press release issued by Scuderia Caracchi NCR Nortel Networks:

Black an white for Regis Laconi today at Assen

It has not been a lucky day today at Assen for Scuderia Caracchi NCR Nortel Networks: David Garcia preferred to renounce at the race due the posthumous of the bad crash of yesterday in the free practice session, while Regis Laconi, forced to stop for electric troubles in race-1, ended 4th in race-2 limiting the damages for the championship standing in a wrong day. The biggest trouble has been because, after a warm up run on a half wet track, the race-1 stop didn’t allow to upgrade the set up and in race-2 some unattended problem appeared while they could be easily solve with more time available.

“I’m unhappy because, as Lavila and Toseland stopped, we could get a better standing in the championship.” – said a bit disappointed Laconi back in the garage – “It would be sufficient to earn a few points in race-1, on the contrary we made a stupid mistake when I enter the garage for an electric trouble: the guys have done immediately their job and I rejoined the race; I was running very fast, with laptime around 2’03” like the front of the race; but unfortunately they have done their work on the bike inside the garage and to be disqualified it has been unavoidable. So in race-2 the bike was running well ,but it wasn’t perfect, and Assen is strong heavy for the tyres and you must have a perfect setting to be competitive. However the championship standing is still good and in practice nothing changed because all three, Toseland, Lavilla and me, we lost a race today.”


More from a press release issued by the organizers of the Sidecar World Championship:

DUTCH DOUBLE FOR WEBSTER AT ASSEN

Steve Webster and passenger Paul Woodhead clinched their sixth victory of the 2003 campaign to extend their lead in the Superside World championship in round eight at Assen, Holland.

Reigning world champions Steve Abbott and Jamie Biggs got a terrific start to lead at the start but Webster and Woodhead were back on top by lap two and never looked back to clinch their third consecutive win.

Webster said: “It’s been a good weekend and the team did a fantastic job. Lap times were a bit slower but it was the same for everyone out there.”

Klaus Klaffenböck and Christian Parzer staged a terrific fightback and passed Abbott and Biggs on the final lap to take second, making it two podiums for the 2001 World champions.

“I am happy with second place. There are still two races to go and 50 points so everything is possible,” said Klaffenböck.

Abbott and Biggs got their first podium of the weekend in third following on from fourth in race one. “We had a problem with the water temperature and I didn’t expect to finish. Klaus came from nowhere and fair play to him,” said Abbott.

Superside World championship race result (13 laps-78.35km/48.97miles): 1 Steve Webster, GB (Suzuki) 28:33.867, 2 Klaus Klaffenböck, Austria (Yamaha) -6.413 seconds, 3 Steve Abbott, GB (Suzuki) -6.679, 4 Tom Hanks, GB (Yamaha) -16.377, 5 Martien van Gils, Holland (Suzuki) -16.482, 6 Jörg Steinhausen, Germany (Suzuki) -41.685, 7 Tim Reeves, GB (Yamaha) -1:15.543, 8 Billy Gällros, Sweden (Suzuki) -1:18.158s, 9 Bill Philp, GB (Yamaha) -1:18.955, 10 Chris Founds, GB (Yamaha) -1:28.543.

Championship points after eight of 10 rounds:
1 Webster 166, 2 Klaffenböck 146, 3 Steinhausen 111, 4 Abbott 91, 5 Hanks 81, 6 Van Gils 75, 7 Roscher 63, 8 Philp 59, 9 Gällros 39, 10 Hauzenberger 37.