Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Monza World Superbike Race Two Results:

1. Regis Laconi, Ducati 999F04, 18 laps, 32:48.901
2. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR1000RR, 33:01.293
3. James Toseland, Ducati 999F04, 33:07.182
4. Garry McCoy, Ducati 999RS, 33:08.304
5. Leon Haslam, Ducati 999RS, 33:23.512
6. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1, 33:29.566
7. Marco Borciani, Ducati 999RS, 33:30.157
8. Chris Walker, Foggy Petronas FP1, 33:31.386
9. Steve Martin, Ducati 999RS, 33:37.837
10. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 33:37.913
11. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 33:39.943
12. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 33:51.222
13. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 33:58.417
14. Alessio Velini, Yamaha YZF-R1, 33:58.474
15. Horst Saiger, Yamaha YZF-R1, 34:09.774

18. Noriyuki Haga, Ducati 999RS, -12 laps, DNF
19. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, -13 laps, DNF

22. Sergio Fuertes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -18 laps, DNF

Fastest Lap of Race: Laconi, 1:48.773

World Superbike Championship Point Standings:

1. Laconi, 120 points
2. Toseland, 113 points
3. Vermeulen, 103 points
4. Chili, 97 points
5. McCoy, 84 points
6. Haga, 69 points
7. Walker, 68 points
8. Borciani, 67 points
9. Corser, 65 points
10. Haslam, 62 points
11. Martin, 61 points
12. Sanchini, 38 points
13. Clementi, 28 points
14. Nannelli, 26 points
15. Bontempi, 24 points
16. Fuertes, 22 points
17. Pedercini, 14 points
18. Saiger, 12 points
19. Alessio Velini, 10 points
20. Warwick Nowland, 8 points


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

Foggy describes Monza bonanza as `best yet’ for FPR

Carl Fogarty described his team’s four top ten finishes in the fourth round of the Superbike World Championship at Monza, Italy, as their greatest achievement to date.

Troy Corser capped an encouraging day with sixth place in the second race of the day, two ahead of team-mate Chris Walker. In the day’s opening action, Chris was again eighth, beating Troy by just one place.

Four-times World Superbike champion Foggy, himself four times a winner at Monza, said: “In some ways that could be described as our best round yet. In the other rounds, when we have made the podium, we were relying on the performance of the riders and also the conditions. This time, while the riders rode well again, the bike performed better than I thought it would. I honestly thought we would be struggling to make the top ten today. So it is absolutely fantastic to have four top ten finishes. I would say that this is the first big step forward we have had for more than a year and it has been a very promising start for the new PETRONAS engine development team.”

Entering the two races at the monstrously fast circuit of Monza on the back of two podium finishes in the first three rounds, Foggy PETRONAS Racing were relying on a new stage of development to cope with the stresses placed on the engine by the three long straights.

And, having only managed to finish one of the four races, in 13th place, on their first visit to the historic Italian circuit last season, the initial twin aims of increased reliability and consistency from the engines, were both comfortably achieved.

While the demands of Monza took their toll on other bikes – both races saw ten riders failing to finish – Chris and Troy were able to capitalise on the handling of the FP1 through the corners in order to stay with their respective packs during each race, as well as taking part in the frequent drafting manoeuvres so typical of the fastest track on the calendar.

Troy said: “I think the bike was as good as it was going to be here. The engine for the second race seemed better off the bottom and I had changed gearing to the same as Chris had used as I had been on the limiter all the way down the straight in the first race. I also tried to find new braking points as I had looked at the telemetry from the first race and Chris was braking later. I had been braking as late as possible so I think that might have been down to the clutch, as the bike was definitely more stable on the brakes in the second race and so my average top speeds were a lot higher. I didn’t make it too easy for myself off the start and got bottled up at the first corner. When Borciani was in front of me he was just pulling away enough that I couldn’t out-brake him, but he was actually holding me up going in on the brakes. I needed a run out of the last chicane to be on his exhaust through Parabolica so that I could out-drag him through start-finish. We have had minimal problem s this weekend and the engines were definitely more consistent, with better mapping too. So we now have a better base to move forward from, as this was always going to be our toughest round.”

Chris said: “If someone had told me I would finish the weekend with two eighth places I would have been very happy. The bike has run really well all weekend, so respect to the new engine development team. I got a good start but was maybe a little too cautious because of the first corner and it is the wrong side of the grid to be on. I managed to get past a few but at one stage I lost the tow when I came out of my seat coming out of Ascari and it was difficult to catch Borciani from there. I was happy with the first race but probably wouldn’t have had to work so hard – I was on the edge all the time – if I had not suffered a slipped clutch at the start.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

LACONI (DUCATI FILA) DOMINATES MONZA WORLD SUPERBIKE ROUND WITH DOUBLE WIN – TWO SECOND PLACES FOR TOSELAND – DUCATI FILA RIDERS HEAD THE POINTS
TABLE

Monza (Italy), Sunday 16 May 2004: Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila) dominated the fourth round of the World Superbike Championship at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, taking two clear wins aboard his Ducati 999 F04. The first double win of the 28 year-old Frenchman’s career powers him into the lead of the championship with 120 points.

Team-mate James Toseland, who is just three points behind in the table, took home two podiums: the British rider first had to hold off a determined Vermeulen (Honda) in the first race, in which he finished second, and then McCoy (NCR Ducati) in race 2, where he finished third. With the disqualification of the Honda rider after race 2, Toseland’s third became another runner-up slot.

“It’s been a fantastic weekend in Monza, which is a very important race for Ducati” declared Laconi. “I’m so happy for them and for me because I take the lead of the championship. Thanks for my team, they did a great job to make me go so fast today so this win is for them. Once again I didn’t make such a good start, but the bike was perfect, we chose the same tyre as race 1 and although I didn’t brake as aggressively as I did in the first race, everything turned out fine.”

“McCoy was riding hard in that second race but luckily we had a good set-up at the front and we were able to brake a bit deeper than him and that’s what made all the difference for me really” declared Toseland. “He had more grip on the right-handers and me on the left, but it was an even and fair battle and a fantastic race. Well done to Chris and also to Regis, he’s been awesome this weekend. The championship is now looking good, Regis and I are first and second. It has been fantastic racing around here, I was just a bit disappointed in having a few problems early in the weekend, but we managed to get it all together for the races.”


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

2004 World Superbike Championship
Round 4, Monza (Italy), Sunday 16th May
Circuit: 5.793kms
Weather: dry, sunny 26° C.
Crowd: 86.000 (3-days figure)

TROY TAKES A FIGHTING FIFTH IN RACE TWO
Troy took a hard fought for fifth in the second race at Monza today and was happy to leave the Italian circuit on a positive note. In the first race, his gearing was a bit off and had to battle it out with Fuertes (Suzuki), Borciani (Ducati) and team mate Walker, before finally ending up ninth. He changed gearing for the second race and was able to contest sixth position without any trouble. Although he crossed the line sixth, he was bumped up to fifth after the disqualification of second placed Vermeulen (Honda). Frenchman Regis Laconi (Ducati) dominated both 18-lappers and took his first ever double victory. In race one, His team mate Toseland took runner-up spot, with McCoy (Ducati) third. Vermeulen took runner-up spot in race two, with Toseland third, but a technical infraction caused him to be excluded from the results and allowed McCoy to inherit third.

TROY
I was much happier in the second race then the first. I think we had the wrong gearing in race one and once we looked the telemetry from my bike and Chris’s, we changed mine and it worked a lot better. I was on the limiter down the start straight in the first race, so I knew something had to be changed. In race two, I think the bike was as good as it was going to be here. The engine seemed stronger in race two right from the start, but I didn’t make my own life easy because my start wasn’t so good and I got bottled up going into the first corner. But the bike felt better and more stable on the brakes, so I was able to ride it harder. Borciani held me up for while and I knew I had to get a good run out of Ascari and be right on his exhaust pipes going into the Parabolica, so that I could out-drag him on the run to the chequered flag. We’ve had minimal problems this weekend and the engines have been more consistent, and with better mapping, so now we have a better base to move forward from. This was always going to be our toughest race, so to come out with a fifth, makes me happy.


More, from a press release issued by FGSport:

LACONI DOUBLES AT MONZA

First Among Equals: Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila 999F04) added to his 2004 race wins score in perfect fashion at Monza, taking two front running wins on his Ducati Fila machine. He was untouchable and in each race he won by a margin that underlined why he is the only rider to have secured more than one win so far this year. His total now stands at four and he leads the World Championship by three points from Toseland, with a total of 120. In a day of much regulatory discussion, Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda) was excluded from second place after his engine cut-out switch, devised to kill the engine in the event of a fall, did not function when tested.

Race 1: With Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati 998) experiencing an engine failure from his first choice machine, pulling out on the warm-up lap and swapping to his 999 machine in pitlane, the way was open for Chris Vermeulen to take an early advantage. He could not make his early speed stick for the entire race, as he dropped back to finish fourth. Regis Laconi ran away to a clear win, by 9.8 seconds over the hard charging James Toseland, his own team-mate. The Fila Ducati 1-2 was followed on by a third place for Aussie privateer Garry McCoy, on the first Xerox Scuderia Caracchi 999RS. Aussie Chris Vermeulen was fourth, in a race that was to deliver his only points scoring finish of the day.

Race 2: After Vermeulen was excluded from race two, having had a clear race in the vacuum of the disappearing Laconi (some 12 seconds ahead), James Toseland was promoted to second and Garry McCoy bagged himself a pair of third places – making each podium finish a carbon copy of the other. In fourth, Leon Haslam belatedly had his best ever SBK result, earning 13 additional points.

Chili Calamity: The beaten but unbowed figure of Pierfrancesco Chili left Monza with no race finishes to his name, the championship leader before Monza having two mechanical failures in race one and a crash in race two. A Monza crowd up 14,000 from last year – to a total of 86,000 – was behind Chili’s attack from the start, on a day when Superbike racing offered a feel good factor off the scale at the revamped Monza.

Petronas Perseverance: Despite a lack of power in comparison to the big twins and fours in SBK, the recently re-engineered Petronas machines of Chris Walker and Troy Corser battled around what will maybe be their worst circuit if the year. Each scored strong top ten finishes; Corser was ninth and fifth, with Walker eighth and seventh. Walker was especially combative, running all over the back tyre of Marco Borciani’s DFX Ducati in race one, with Borciani seventh and eighth.

Supersport Race: Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) once more bulldozed the Supersport competition, winning from Fabien Foret (Yamaha Italia) – another rider who was later excluded for a technical infringement – again a non-functioning engine cut-out switch. Muggeridge’s team-mate Broc Parkes was thus promoted to second and championship leader Jurgen van den Goorbergh to third. Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda) took fourth despite a time penalty for a jump-start. In the championship van den Goorbergh leads with 73, Muggeridge is second with 62. Retiree Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) is third, some way back with 47.


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

TROY TAKES A FIGHTING FIFTH IN RACE TWO

Troy took a hard fought for fifth in the second race at Monza today and was happy to leave the Italian circuit on a positive note. In the first race, his gearing was a bit off and had to battle it out with Fuertes (Suzuki), Borciani (Ducati) and team mate Walker, before finally ending up ninth. He changed gearing for the second race and was able to contest sixth position without any trouble. Although he crossed the line sixth, he was bumped up to fifth after the disqualification of second placed Vermeulen (Honda). Frenchman Regis Laconi (Ducati) dominated both 18-lappers and took his first ever double victory. In race one, His team mate Toseland took runner-up spot, with McCoy (Ducati) third. Vermeulen took runner-up spot in race two, with Toseland third, but a technical infraction caused him to be excluded from the results and allowed McCoy to inherit third.

TROY
I was much happier in the second race then the first. I think we had the wrong gearing in race one and once we looked the telemetry from my bike and Chris’s, we changed mine and it worked a lot better. I was on the limiter down the start straight in the first race, so I knew something had to be changed. In race two, I think the bike was as good as it was going to be here. The engine seemed stronger in race two right from the start, but I didn’t make my own life easy because my start wasn’t so good and I got bottled up going into the first corner. But the bike felt better and more stable on the brakes, so I was able to ride it harder. Borciani held me up for while and I knew I had to get a good run out of Ascari and be right on his exhaust pipes going into the Parabolica, so that I could out-drag him on the run to the chequered flag. We’ve had minimal problems this weekend and the engines have been more consistent, and with better mapping, so now we have a better base to move forward from. This was always going to be our toughest race, so to come out with a fifth, makes me happy.


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

Garry McCoy in Monza twice onto the podium

Garry McCoy earned the podium in both the races here in Monza, for the fourth round of World Superbike, and leaves the Italian circuit in fourth position of the pointstanding. Actually the race-2 result put McCoy in fourth position under the chequered flag, after a close fight with Toseland that send to the seventh heaven the 86.000 spectators present in Monza, but late in the check area, during the inspection by Technical Stewards, the bike of the second arrived, Vermeulen, was excluded from the classification for infraction against the FIM Technical Rules.

“I’m happy to ride my 999RS Xerox Ducati Nortel Networks twice onto the rostrum here in Monza, in Italy.” – said a smiling Garry McCoy at the end of the race – “I’m Australian, but all the team has made by Italian people and I’m sure that everybody has a special attention for this race. This couple of third places are the award for the work made by all the team, first Marco Mozzone together with all the guys, everybody made his best in all the week end. In the final part of race-1 I overtook Toseland for the second position, the a small stone entered the fuel injection area, disturbing the throttle movement. By chance it didn’t enter the engine and stopped early to disturb. In the race-2 the bike had some bumping in the rear, but nothing very bad. I believe that the fight with Toseland has been very nice for the public as well it has been for us. In the final lap I tried to pass at the first chicane, but we had different ways to manage that corner and I arrived very close to James when I started release the brakes and he was still braking, so I must brake once more and I’ve lost the correct line, allowing to James to get a decisive advantage.”

Very black day for Miguel Praia, out of the race for technical problems in the early stages in bot the legs, and the young Portuguese rider was actually with his hearth under the shoes at the end of the day.

Giancarlo De Matteis recorded a very good 12th position in race-1, earning 4 points for World Championship, the in race-2 a crash without any consequence at Parabolica corner put him out of the race: “The result of race-1, earned at my debut on the 999, has been beatyful, it’s a pity that a mistake in race-2 didn’t allow me to repeat a good result, as I was able to do.”