Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Edwards grabs his second double in a row

Colin Edwards led the second race at Oschersleben from start to finish to take his second win of the day and his second double win in a row.

Edwards got a great start and roared into a commanding lead very early in the race. Building up a lead of several seconds by half distance, Edwards was able to relax and control the race from the front. He eventually finished nearly four seconds up on title rival Troy Bayliss after cruising a little on the last lap.

With his two wins here and a double at Brands Hatch added to his victory in the second race at Laguna Seca, Edwards is on run with five wins in a row.

Despite getting a slightly better start than in race one, Bayliss couldn’t catch the charging Texan. Bayliss had to settle for second after his sliding rear tyre made it plain to him that he simply wasn’t going to catch Edwards today.

Neil Hodgson and Nori Haga provided some of the race’s best action. Hodgson started from pole but was back in third place early in the race. Haga fought his way up through the field, passing Ben Bostrom and Broc Parkes on the way. Haga was all over the back of Hodgson’s Ducati, but the Hodgson was able to hold off Haga with a combination of late braking and outright top speed. With a handful of laps left, Hodgson was able to break Haga’s challenge and crossed the line just over a second clear of the Japanese rider.

Ruben Xaus was another rider who had a fairly lonely race. The Spaniard was determined not to mirror his race-one crash and he took his Ducati over the line in fifth place. Ben Bostrom rounded out the top six, but he was way back, 14 seconds behind Xaus.

Gregorio Lavilla was the leading four-cylinder rider, finishing in ninth place. He had been involved in a long battle with Chris Walker, but the Kawasaki rider was robbed of a chance to keep the battle going to the flag by a melted clutch on the penultimate lap. Walker was able to coast round and eventually finished in 15th place.


1. Colin Edwards, Honda RC51, 28 laps, 40:56.724
2. Troy Bayliss, Ducati 998F02, -3.861 seconds
3. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 998F01, -7.023 seconds
4. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia RSV1000, -8.297 seconds
5. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 998F02, -12.175 seconds
6. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 998F02, -26.149 seconds
7. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, -31.145 seconds
8. James Toseland, Ducati 998F01, -32.391 seconds
9. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R750, -45.277 seconds
10. Broc Parkes, Ducati 998RS, -61.786 seconds
11. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, -74.784 seconds
12. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, -79.512 seconds
13. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -89.806 seconds
14. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -1 lap
15. Chris Walker, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -1 lap
16. Mark Heckles, Honda RC51, -1 lap
17. Thierry Mulot, Ducati 996SPS, -1 lap
18. Serafino Foti, Ducati 996RS, -4 laps, DNF
19. Peter Goddard, Benelli Tornado 900, -7 laps, DNF
20. Hitoyasu Izutsu, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -7 laps, DNF
21. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 996RS, -19 laps, DNF
22. Yann Gyger, Honda RC51, -22 laps, DNF
23. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati 998RS, -26 laps, DNF


World Superbike Championship Point Standings:

1. Bayliss, 481
2. Edwards, 452
3. Hodgson, 289
4. Ben Bostrom, 229
5. Haga, 228
6. Xaus, 204
7. Toseland, 149
8. Walker, 134
9. Chili, 127
10. Lavilla, 104


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

Double podium joy for Hodgson

HM Plant Ducati’s Neil Hodgson scored a podium double at Oschersleben after he matched his first race performance by finishing third behind race winner Colin Edwards and championship leader Troy Bayliss. Edwards made the holeshot once again, but this time he was pursued by Troy Bayliss with Hodgson taking a watching brief in third.

Edwards was setting a record breaking pace at the front, which left Hodgson in a fierce confrontation for the last podium position with Noriyuki Haga. “I rode just as hard as I had done in race one,” said Hodgson. “The pace was hot, but as always I gave it 110% and got a just reward for my grit and determination.

“I have increased my advantage for third in the championship points table to 60 points, so I’ve got to be happy with that. This was a poor round for me last year, so I’m equally happy to have secured a couple of podium finishes at Oschersleben.”

The other HM Plant Ducati of James Toseland came home in eighth position to consolidate his seventh place overall in the Superbike World Championship, with two rounds remaining. “I came here determined to make up for the disappointment of the last round at Brands Hatch,” admitted the 21-year-old Sheffield rider. “I achieved my objective and am going to Assen in a positive frame of mind.

“I have been consistently fast here at Oschersleben during qualifying. I have also been happy with how I have been able to translate my practice form into race pace. Now, I’ve got to get better starts and work hard in the early stages of each leg. I left myself with too much to do in today’s races.”



More, from a press release issued by Playstation2-FGF Aprilia:

CRESCENDO FINISH FOR HAGA IN GERMANY

Oschersleben (Germany), Sunday 1 September 2002 – Noriyuki Haga made a good fourth place in Race 2 of the German Superbike GP at Oschersleben. His long duel for the podium with British rider Neil Hodgson was one of the most spectacular episodes of the day and had the television and public riveted for much of the race. In Race 1, the Japanese rider of the Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team finished seventh.

Haga had never raced at Oschersleben before with the Aprilia RSV and, considering the situation, the day’s result is indeed positive. Nitro-Nori is now just one point away from fourth place in the World Championship, currently held by Ben Bostrom.

NORIYUKI HAGA (Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team rider) – “In Race 2, we went pretty well. However, Hodgson in front slowed me down: I had the distinct feeling that if I’d been able to get past him, I’d have been able to up the pace. But it’s hard to get past on that track and I never found the right gap. Next Sunday at Assen, I’m sure we’ll be able to do better: I know the track and I love it.”

GIACOMO GUIDOTTI (Technical Manager of the Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team) – “We weren’t pleased with the first race, so we changed a number of things for the second, including both front and back tyres. We also worked on the suspension and the whole set-up of the bike was better. We didn’t get the final gearing absolutely perfect: during the practice sessions, Haga had obtained slower times and during the race he was often on the RPM limiter. This meant that on the straights we weren’t able to get quite the speed we needed to overtake Hodgson.”



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

BAYLISS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) TWICE RUNNER-UP AS EDWARDS (HONDA) TAKES THE HONOURS

Reigning champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) will go into the penultimate round of the World Superbike Championship next weekend at Assen (Netherlands) with a 29 point lead over his chief rival Colin Edwards (Honda) after twice finishing runner-up to the American, who led both Oschersleben races today from lights to flag. Both Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) and Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) were unable to challenge on the day, while Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) completed an identical podium in both races with two thirds.

Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) spent much of race 1 trying to latch onto second-placed Hodgson but he eventually got underneath going into Turn 3 and passed Neil in a clean move on lap 22. “It was a tough race for me, but that’s the best I’ve been all weekend. It’s not much fun being on the second row and I was a bit worried about the first corner but it turned out well for me. When I did get past Neil it didn’t start from under the brakes, it started from the corner before, Neil got the smallest of slides, and that gave me just enough run to get up the side of him and make my move at the next corner. I was then happy to stay in second place.”

In race 2, Troy got a better start to follow Colin into the first corner and eventually finish over three seconds adrift of the American. “I couldn’t do anything more otherwise I would have been in the gravel. After two-thirds of the race, you know you’re not going to make up three seconds in a couple of laps so I settled for second. I can honestly say my weekend started this morning, because I was just unable to get things right in qualifying. I couldn’t do anything about Colin here, he’s had a great weekend, but now we go to Assen, which is one of my favourite tracks”

Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) lost time at the start of race 1 with a loose knee-slider and when he was trying to catch Hodgson in third, he lost the front under braking at the final curve on lap 23. In the second race he recovered from a slow start to finish fifth. “My lap times were good today so I’m quite happy with my performance” declared Ruben. “In race 1 I had to fight and work hard to recover from the gap I lost at the beginning when I was stuck behind Ben. I got really close to third place but fell off. I got a bad start in race 2 and was eighth on the first lap. It took a long time to pass Ben again, but the rest of the race I was pushing hard and calculating whether I could reach Haga and Hodgson before the end. I finished four seconds from them so I’m quite happy with my second race”.

A fourth and a sixth place today for Bostrom (Ducati L&M), which still leaves him in fourth place in the championship, one point ahead of Haga. “I tried very hard, we just needed a bit more grip in that first race” commented Ben. “In race 2, I put the same tyre as Neil on but it worked worse on my bike, all we did was go backwards. I should have stuck with the same tyre because maybe with the hotter conditions in the afternoon it would have not been so bad. I had to try something, I just wish I could have got some better results today”.



More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda:

GERMAN DOUBLE FOR EDWARDS AND HONDA SP-2

Castrol Honda¹s Colin Edwards blitzed to victory in today’s second race of the 11th round of the World Superbike championship here at Oschersleben in Germany.

Edwards led from start to finish in the 28-lap race to reduce the points deficit to 29 points as he bids to overhaul championship leader Troy Bayliss.

Victory for Edwards was his seventh of the year and his fifth in succession, it also extended his record run of successive podium finishes to 21. It takes Edwards’ career tally of World Superbike wins to 27 ­ in his five years with Castrol Honda.

“All I can do is keep winning and keep the pressure on Troy,” said Edwards. “Honda, Michelin and Castrol are all playing their part with technical improvements and making my life easy. It’s Assen next Sunday and I’m ready to keep my run going.”

He continued: “I got the signal after the first lap that Troy was in second so I had to just try that bit harder and open a bigger gap at the front. After that I was just concentrating on counting down the laps. It’s great to get the win and I’m pleased for the team; when Troy was winning every race at the start of the year it was no fun for us.”

Edwards set a new lap record on the fifth lap of the race with an incredible time of 1:26.549, faster than his Superpole time of 1:26.595.