Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

World Superbike
Valencia, Spain
Race Two Results:

1. Noriyuki Haga, Ducati 999RS, 23 laps, 37:32.364
2. James Toseland, Ducati 999F04, -1.769 seconds
3. Steve Martin, Ducati 999RS, -10.021 seconds
4. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, -10.138 seconds
5. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR1000RR, -17.064 seconds
6. Garry McCoy, Ducati 999RS, -21.140 seconds
7. Chris Walker, Foggy Petronas FP1, -21.584 seconds
8. Marco Borciani, Ducati 999RS, -21.626 seconds
9. Leon Haslam, Ducati 999RS, -33.387 seconds
10. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-10R, -33.537 seconds
11. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1, -36.556 seconds
12. Sergio Fuertes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -40.458 seconds
13. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, -43.819 seconds
14. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-10R, -46.515 seconds
15. Horst Saiger, Yamaha YZF-R1, -57.694 seconds
16. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -63.975 seconds
17. Warwick Nowland, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -67.674 seconds
18. Alessio Velini, Yamaha YZF-R1, -69.952 seconds
19. Miguel Praia, Ducati 999RS, -1 lap
20. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 998RS, -22 laps
21. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati 998RS, -23 laps
22. Regis Laconi, Ducati 999F04, -23 laps

Fastest Lap of Race: Noriyuki Haga, 1:36.763


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

Walker builds on podium success for Foggy PETRONAS Racing

Chris Walker completed a great opening round of the 2004 World Superbike season for Foggy PETRONAS Racing by following up his third place finish in the opening race – the first podium position for the FP1 – with seventh place in the day’s second race at Valencia, Spain.

The results left PETRONAS, Malaysia’s oil and gas giant, in second place in the manufacturers’ standings behind Ducati, who achieved two wins with James Toseland and Noriyuki Haga.

And the performance of his new rider thrilled team owner Carl Fogarty, the four-times World Superbike champion.

Carl said: “It has been a brilliant weekend for us and I never dreamed that we would be celebrating a podium position here. Maybe it will make a few people sit up and take notice and we will soon know exactly what this bike is capable of, with developments to the engine expected within a few rounds.

“It has been especially good for Chris and we were not a million miles off the pace in the second race in dry conditions. We can’t argue with seventh place, and nearly having both riders in the top ten, at this stage of the development. Maybe Troy was a little too anxious to get to the front in the first race and it’s strange to be saying that so early in the season.”

The second race was less dramatic than the opening action, with the morning’s rain having disappeared. Pre-race favourite Regis Laconi failed to complete the opening lap for the second time in the day when he suffered engine failure and Chris managed to fight off a late challenge from the Kawasaki of Marco Borciani to clinch nine more points and finish the first round fourth in the rider standings.

Chris said: “I don’t think we could have done a better job this weekend and that’s a credit to Petronas, to Carl and to the whole team. To be on the podium in the first race was more than I could have hoped for. In the second race I got a good start, which I was desperate to do, and although I was not as high as I wanted to be I was still in the pack. It took a while to get my head down and then I concentrated on consistent laps. The bike ran really well and the Pirelli tyres worked well.”

It was a less pleasing story for team-mate Troy Corser, who crashed out of the first race while challenging for second place and finished the second race in 11th. The Australian said: “I was really pleased for Chris and the team in the first race but that was not an enjoyable day for me personally. I had overheating problems in the second race and the bike was losing power. So I had to try and make up time in the corners and ran wide on a couple of occasions.”

Second race result, WSBK round one, Valencia, Spain: 1 Haga (Renegade Ducati); 2 Toseland (Ducati Fila) +1.769; 3 Martin (DFX) +10.021; 4 Chili (PSG-1) +10.138; 5 Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda) +17.067; 6 McCoy (Xerox Ducati) +21.140; 7 Walker (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) +21.584; 8 Bporciani (DFX) +21.626; 9 Haslam (Renegade Ducati) +33.387; 10 Sanchini (Kawasaki Bertocchi) +33.537; 11 Corser (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) +36.556; 12 Fuertes (MIR Racing) +40.458; 13 Pedercini (Team Pedercini) +43.819; 14 Clementi (Kawasaki Bertocchi) +46.515; 15 Saiger (Life Haus RT) +57.694




More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

MIXED FORTUNES FOR DUCATI FILA IN WORLD SUPERBIKE OPENER AT VALENCIA

Valencia (Spain), 29 February 2004: The Ducati Fila riders had a couple of eventful races in the opening round of the World Superbike Championship at Valencia, with James Toseland picking up a win and a second place and polesitter Regis Laconi failing to score a single point.

23 year-old Toseland scored his second Superbike career win in race 1, which was held on a wet but drying track. “It was a strange race, first Haga came past me and I thought I was going down when Corser crashed next to me” declared James. “For the race I chose a wet front and an intermediate rear. To be honest I’d never raced in the wet with Pirellis before, so we went a bit on the safe side, but luckily they held out to the flag”.

Toseland then chased eventual winner Noriyuki Haga for the 23 laps of race 2 before settling for second place and the points lead in the championship. “I was struggling in qualifying and practice with the set-up for the dry, but Nori rode fantastically well and we went with what we knew. It’s been a nerve-racking weekend but I’m just glad to have come out on top and get two consistent finishes in the first round. I made a bit of an aggressive move on Haslam on the first lap and lost a bit of time and then I couldn’t do anymore. It’s all turned out well.”

Frenchman Laconi crashed out on the warm-up lap of race 1 but was able to get back to the pits in time to mount his second Ducati 999. His luck ran out however as he again went down on the greasy track, this time for good, after just a couple of corners. Laconi’s misfortune continued in the second race as he parked his 999 against the barriers after just a few corners when the bike chain derailed off the rear sprocket.

“I cannot say I feel bad because that’s racing, these things happen, but for sure I’m not happy because I made a mistake in the first race and this is not good” commented Laconi. “In the second race with this problem I had to stop. I didn’t do one lap today so I hope everything finishes here and things will be better from now on.”

RACE 1: 1. Toseland (Ducati Fila); 2. 2. Chili (PSG-1 Ducati); 3. Walker (Petronas); 4. Borciani (DFX Ducati); 5. Haslam (Renegade Ducati); 6. Nannelli (Ducati) ; etc. RACE 2 : 1. Haga (Renegade Ducati) ; 2. Toseland; 3. Martin (DFX Ducati); 4. Chili; 5. Vermeulen (Honda); 6. McCoy (NCR Ducati); etc.

POINTS (after 1 of 11 rounds): Riders – 1. Toseland 45; 2. Chili 33; 3. Haga 25; 4. Walker 25; 5. Borciani 21; 6. McCoy 19; etc. Manufacturers – 1. Ducati 50; 2. Petronas 25; 3. Honda 15; 4. Suzuki 12; 5. Yamaha 8; 6. Kawasaki 8.


EXTRAORDINARY DOUBLE DEBUT FOR LANZI (DUCATI BREIL) AND 749R IN SUPERSPORT

Valencia (Spain), 29 February 2004: Italian Lorenzo Lanzi and the Ducati 749R made a superb double debut in the World Supersport Championship today with fourth place in the opening round at Valencia.

2003 European Superstock runner-up Lanzi almost powered the twin-cylinder machine to a podium finish after terminating the first lap in a lowly sixteenth position.

But the 22-year-old from Cesena, Italy used the 749R’s superb straightline speed (263 km/h on the 850 metre straight, the quickest of the day) to overhaul all the riders in the group battling for fourth place to make the position secure five laps from the end.

“I’d like to thank the engineers, Ernesto Marinelli in particular, because they helped me to chose the right tyre for the race” declared an overjoyed Lanzi. “It was a pity about the start because I got a bit left behind when the clutch jumped out slightly and then in the first curve I got bottled in and finished the first lap down in sixteenth position.

“Getting close to the podium is a fantastic result. We always said that we were working for the race and not qualifying, so you can’t ask for more than that and I really enjoyed myself out there today.”

This season Ducati have returned to the World Supersport Championship with a factory team, sponsored by Breil, for the first time in three years, and with a brand new bike that had its first real shakedown tests just two weeks ago.

RACE: 1. Van der Goorbergh (Yamaha); 2. Foret (Yamaha); 3. Fujiwara (Suzuki); 4. Lanzi (Ducati Breil 749R); 5. Chambon (Suzuki); 6. Iannuzzo (Suzuki); 7. Daemen (Honda); 8. Muggeridge (Honda); etc.

POINTS (after 1 of 10 rounds): Riders – 1. Van der Goorbergh 25; 2. Foret 20; 3. Fujiwara 16; 4. Lanzi 13; 5. Chambon 11; 6. Iannuzzo 10; etc. Manufacturers – 1. Yamaha 25; 2. Suzuki 16; 3. Ducati 13; 4. Honda 9; 5. Kawasaki 6.


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

ONE TO FORGET FOR TROY

The opening round of the 2004 Superbike World Championship is not one that Troy will remember with affection. A crash in race one plus a lowly twelfth in race two – thanks to his Petronas FP1 overheating – meant that Troy’s points tally after two races is just five! It’s not the way Troy would’ve liked to have opened his 2004 campaign but, as Troy himself said afterwards, “Sometimes, that’s the way it goes.”
There was some joy though for Troy’s team mate Chris Walker in the first race, which started with a damp track and a sprinkling of rain. In a race of attrition, which only saw fifteen finishers, Walker took a superb third place, to give team Petronas FP1 something to celebrate. James Toseland (Ducati) won the race comfortably, though Frankie Chili (Ducati) was catching him towards the end of the 23-lapper. Fortunately, for all concerned, race two took place in completely dry conditions. Troy was in the top nine at the end of the first lap, but his Petronas FP1’s engine began to overheat and then started losing power. Troy didn’t want to pull in, and kept going as best he could and ended up eleventh. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) led the race from start to finish and was never troubled on the way to victory. Toseland took runner-up spot, with Steve Martin (Ducati) third.

TROY

That’s the way it goes sometimes, I guess. Tyre choice was a bit of a lottery in the first race because of the dampness of the track, so we went for full wets – the same choice as most of the other riders. I thought that the track would dry out as the race progressed, so I tried to keep with the leaders. After two laps I was in second place and then out! I was chasing James (Toseland) and went a bit wide and off line and then slid on the side of the track. I ran out of space, so just lay the bike down in the gravel, but the slide happened so fast, I couldn’t do anything about it. Luckily I wasn’t injured, but I was a bit disappointed – to say the least! In the second race, the bike’s engine overheated, which means it loses power. It was the engine I had used in Superpole and in the first race and. Once it overheated, I knew that I would be struggling. I could’ve pulled in, but I decided to keep going and see how many points I could salvage. I guess today, my team mate got lucky and I did not.

RESULTS

Race 1:
1. Toseland (GB-Ducati), 2. Chili (I-Ducati), 3. Walker (GB-Petronas FP1), 4. Borciani (I-Ducati), 5. Haslam (GB-Ducati), 6. Nannelli (I-Ducati), TROY CORSER (AUS-PETRONAS FP1) DNF

Race 2:
1. Haga (J-Ducati), 2. Toseland, 3. Martin (AUS-Ducati), 4. Chili, 5. Vermeulen (AUS-Honda), 6. McCoy (AUS-Ducati), 11. TROY CORSER (AUS-PETRONAS FP1)

Points: 1. Toseland 45, 2. Chili 33, 3. Haga 25, 4. Walker 25, 5. Borciani 21,6. McCoy 19, 15. TROY CORSER 5


More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda:

Vermeulen Goes 12th and 5th In Valencia Opener

Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR rider Chris Vermeulen secured a 12th place in the first 23 lap Superbike race, and a superb fifth in race two on what was a sometimes confusion and drama-filled first Superbike raceday of the year.

In race one, the damp weather hardened into real rainfall at mid-race distance but the event was not halted to allow those riders who had picked slick tyres to continue. Vermeulen, with a slick rear and wet front, struggled on the damp track, and experienced problems with the ignition system of his machine, later traced to the rider accidentally hitting he kill switch and resetting the engine computer settings.

He came into pitlane, stopped and restarted his machine, which cleared the problem, and carried on at high pace to finish 12th. In race two, which was held in fully dry conditions, Vermeulen got an atrocious start, but came back to finish a fine fifth place.

“I don’t know what happened in race one but I was out of the seat and over the screen a couple of times and then the bike started to give me a strange engine response, burbling and not revving properly,” said Chris. “I came into the pits, the bike restarted so I went back out. In the second race I got a terrible start, probably the worst ever, and that was a real nightmare. I really had to play catch up from then on but it worked out pretty well, as I got fifth place. Once I got there I didn’t want to push too much any more. I’m pretty pleased with that ride on my Superbike debut.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate declared himself happy with the first race experience on the CBR1000RR. “Fifth place was a great finish for us, especially as Chris got such a bad start. He must have been in 20th place on the first lap! To make a fifth place was good for us and we are looking forward to the next race in Australia.”

The combination of Vermeulen’s points places him ninth in the championship, which is headed by James Toseland (Ducati) the winner of race one. Race two was taken by Ducati rider Noriyuki Haga.

The next round for the Ten Kate Honda Superbike squad is in Australia, at Phillip Island on 28 March.


WK Superbike
Race 1 – Valencia
27 – 29 Februari
Race Resultaten


Race 1
1. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 F04
2. P. Chili, ITA, Ducati 999 RS
3. C. Walker, GBR, Petronas FP1
4. M. Borciani, ITA, Ducati 999 RS
5. L. Haslam, GBR, Ducati 999 RS
6. G. Nannelli, ITA, Ducati 998 RS
7. G. Mccoy, AUS, Ducati 999 RS
8. S. Fuertes, ESP, Suzuki GSX 1000R
9. H. Saiger, AUT, Yamaha YZF R1
10. J. Mrkyvka, CZE, Ducati 998 RS


12. C. Vermeulen, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR


Race 2
1. N. Haga, JPN, Ducati 999 RS
2. J, Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 F04
3. S. Martin, AUS, Ducati 999 RS
4. P. Chili, ITA, Ducati 999 RS
5. C. Vermeulen, AUS Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR
6. G. Mccoy, AUS, Ducati 999 RS
7. C. Walker, GBR, Petronas FP1
8. M. Borciani, ITA, Ducati 999 RS
9. L. Haslam, GBR, Ducati 999 RS
10. M. Sanchini, ITA, Kawasaki ZX10


More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati Nortel Networks – Scuderia Caracchi:

TWICE IN THE POINTS McCOY AT VALENCIA

Garry McCoy makes a very successfully debut today in the first race of World Superbike on Valencia’s circuit “Ricardo Tormo”. After the two days of practices with cold, but sunny, the weather changed this morning again and a big dark cloudy covered Valencia’s circuit a few minutes before the start of race-1. The Race Direction haven’t show the board “Wet race”, so Garry preferred to use slick tyres, because he knows that, following the FIM Sporting Rules, when the grip become worst the Race Direction must stop the race. Even if that didn’t happen when it started raining, Garry hadn’t the possibility to change the tyres, and the other riders with rain or intermediate tyres got an advantage. When rain stopped and the track become dry, for McCoy was very hard to earn some position, then he finished seventh making the fastest lap of the race at the last one. The start of race-2 was better, Garry went of with Haga, Haslam and Toseland. Early his rear tyre started sliding and he wasn’t able to fight to the leader, so McCoy lost some position, ad he finished in the sixth place.

“I’m a bit disappointed for race-1” – Mc Coy says after the race – “I decided to start with slick tyre because I was sure that the race will be stopped if it’s raining, but the Race Direction didn’t it, and actually it was very difficult to drive in those conditions during four-five laps. When the rain stopped and the track dried, but it was too late to recover. In fact only in the last lap I could push as I like. On race-2 I started quite well, but the rear tyre started sliding and I’ve been forced to close the throttle. We didn’t understand if the cause has been the tyre or the setting, we must look at the data recording to see what could happen. Despite all I’m pretty satisfied. All other riders have been able to cover more test kilometers as us, but the gap is going to close. We clinched the sixth position in the championship, it’s a good debut.”

Miguel Praia reached the seventh heaven: at his racing debut in World Superbike arena, finishing both the legs and earning three points for the championship, despite his physical problems and the pains in the left foot.

“I’m very happy, to finish 13th in race-1 it has been fantastic, especially because with wet track and slick tyres it was very very difficult to stand” – said Miguel at the end of the day – “I had big pains in my foot, as pushing on the footrest as using the gear lever. Earning the three points today I’m the first Portuguese rider earning points for World Championship, that a great honour for me.”