FIM Superbike World Championship Brands Hatch, England August 6 Race Two Results: 1. Noriyuki Haga (Yam YZF-R1), 25 laps, 36:29.709 2. Troy Bayliss (Duc 999F06), -0.184 second 3. Andrew Pitt (Yam YZF-R1), -2.242 seconds 4. Regis Laconi (Kaw ZX-10R), -6.523 seconds 5. James Toseland (Hon CBR1000RR), -7.703 seconds 6. Troy Corser (Suz GSX-R1000), -7.521 seconds 7. Yukio Kagayama (Suz GSX-R1000), -10.903 seconds 8. Chris Walker (Kaw ZX-10R), -19.715 seconds 9. Alex Barros (Hon CBR1000RR), -22.202 seconds 10. Ruben Xaus (Duc 999F05), -26.797 seconds 11. Lorenzo Lanzi (Duc 999F06), -29.702 seconds 12. Michel Fabrizio (Hon CBR1000RR), -29.804 seconds 13. Norick Abe (Yam YZF-R1), -31.829 seconds 14. Sebastien Gimbert (Yam YZF-R1), -34.177 seconds 15. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Suz GSX-R1000), -35.267 seconds 16. Steve Martin (Foggy Petronas FP1), -40.940 seconds 17. Shinichi Nakatomi (Yam YZF-R1), -43.413 seconds 18. Roberto Rolfo (Duc 999F05), -45.985 seconds 19. Fonsi Nieto (Kaw ZX-10R), -7 laps, DNF, mechanical 20. Ivan Clementi (Duc 999RS), -13 laps, DNF, mechanical 21. Craig Jones (Foggy Petronas FP1), -13 laps, DNF, mechanical 22. Pierfrancesco Chili (Hon CBR1000RR), -14 laps, DNF, mechanical 23. Marco Borciani (Duc 999F05), -14 laps, DNF, mechanical 24. Josh Brookes (Kaw ZX-10R), -15 laps, DNF, mechanical 25. Tommy Hill (Yam YZF-R1), -20 laps, DNF, mechanical 26. Karl Muggeridge (Hon CBR1000RR), -21 laps, DNF, crash 27. Kurtis Roberts (Duc 999RS), -24 laps, DNF, mechanical Superbike World Championship Point Standings (After 16 of 24 races): 1. Bayliss, 307 points 2. Haga, 230 points 3. Toseland, 219 points 4. Corser, 193 points 5. Barros, 166 points 6. Pitt, 157 points 7. Kagayama, 126 points 8. TIE, Lanzi/Walker, 96 points 10. Fabrizio, 87 points 11. Xaus, 84 points 12. Nieto, 83 points 13. Abe, 77 points 14. Laconi, 72 points 15. Muggeridge, 66 points 16. Rolfo, 52 points 17. Nakatomi, 29 points 18. Fabien Foret, 19 points 19. Gimbert, 18 points 20. Chili, 16 points More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing: Lack of luck for Foggy PETRONAS Racing at Brands Hatch Luck was not on the side of Craig Jones and his Foggy PETRONAS Racing team-mate Steve Martin for the eighth round races of the Superbike World Championship at Brands Hatch, Great Britain. Located in garage 13 in pit-lane, Craig was forced to retire on lap 13 of both races while Steve finished just out of the points in 16th and 17th places. Troy Bayliss stretched his championship lead with a clear win in the first race but was pegged back when Noriyuki Haga clinched a hard-fought victory over the Australian in race two. Craig’s tale of woe started when oil leaked onto his rear tyre in the first race, forcing him to pull in. Steve was lying in the points with three laps remaining before a gear-shifter failure dropped him down to 17th. There was more misfortune for Craig in race two when his rear tyre spun on the rim, eventually making the bike impossible to ride. Steve enjoyed a problem free second race but finished just five seconds off a point-scoring finish in the PETRONAS FP1’s last race on British soil. Craig said: “When the tyres were good in the first race I was going well, but as soon as they went off I started to struggle. I knew there was a problem when I went into Stirlings and the bike felt out of character for that corner. I was actually lucky to save it when I was nearly thrown over the bars because of the oil on the rear wheel. The problems in race two started after three laps and got progressively worse. By mid-race it was bouncing me out of the corners and I was struggling to hold on. It is so frustrating because we had solved our earlier problems and I was riding well. I was catching a group that eventually finished in the points so, with just a tiny bit of luck, I feel I could have scored my first points.” Steve said: “I was quite happy with the first race because I felt I was riding well. I was pleased with the consistency of the lap times until I suffered a gear shifter problem with three laps to go and dropped out of the points because I had to change gears manually and that cost me more than half a second a lap. It may sound crazy but I was also pleased with the second race. I was riding well, pushing on the limit, and I was again happy with the consistency until the tyres went off. As soon as that happened, about three quarters of the way through, I was unable to carry as much corner speed. It has been a difficult weekend but there are positives that we can take into the final four rounds.” More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: TOSELAND ON THE FIRST RACE PODIUM AT HOME ROUND James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) ended his Brands Hatch race weekend with a second and a fifth place finish, eliciting a standing ovation from his loyal fans after each 25-lap outing. His team-mate Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) suffered two falls and two no scores after qualifying on the front row, and while running strongly at the front. In race one Toseland looked to be in with a chance of the win until the final few laps, when could not quite match the final race pace of winner Troy Bayliss. He fended off a hard charge from Noriyuki Haga to take a podium finish, in second place, earning 20-world championship points. A bright start for Muggeridge was ended abruptly when he fell on lap five. In race two Toseland found his rear grip not equivalent to that in the first race and he lost ground – and eventually a podium place – as he finished a disappointed 5th. His second and fifth places mimic the results he achieved at Brno, in the previous round. Muggeridge experienced the same kind of crash that stopped him in race one. In the championship itself, Toseland is third, with Muggeridge now 15th. Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager “The second race was rather disappointing for us. It had been a good weekend for James all weekend, with good qualifying and an excellent result in race one. We didn’t really change anything in race two, we put the same tyres in because we had no problems at all in race one, and then all of a sudden we were in a different world. We will try to see what has caused that. But we are a little bit puzzled by that, because there was a lack of grip, and that is strange. I am sorry for him that we could not hand him a winning bike for his home round, but we have to get over it and move on to the next round, and the remaining ones. I feel sorry for Karl, it has been very tough for him, and we could see that he could have finished in the top positions, but in race two he hit the kerbstones again and there is really not much more to say about it.” James Toseland – SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Race 1: 2nd position – Race 2: 5th position – Championship Position: 3rd with 219 points) “In race one, when Troy and Noriyuki were battling hard in there, I was able to catch them. But near the end Troy put a good three or four laps in which were very strong, and it pulled a gap out, which was frustrating. I’m happy to be up on the podium at Brands Hatch for a change. In race two I just didn’t have the same grip as in race one, and from about ten laps in I was struggling to keep the pace. I am really disappointed because I knew I could have got the best possible result, but it was great to take at least one podium in front of all these fans at Brands Hatch.” Karl Muggeridge – SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Race 1: DNF – Race 2: DNF – Championship Position: 15th with 66 points) “I’m really disappointed to have crashed twice in the same way when the bike hit the rumple strips. We all worked very hard this weekend so thanks to the team for making the bike go so well that we could qualify on the front row. I’m just looking to Assen now to make up for this raceday in the best way we can.” More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: BAYLISS AND HAGA TAKE BRANDS WINS WITH TOSELAND ON THE PODIUM – SUPERMAN BAYLISS AND SUPERB HAGA SHARE BRANDS HATCH WINS Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox), attired in ‘Superman Returns’ leathers and artwork, scored the race one win at Brands Hatch, where 115,000 spectators enjoyed the race action over the entire weekend. In the second 25-lap outing Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) prevented Bayliss from doing the double in thrilling fashion, beating the championship leader by only 0.184 seconds. The local crowd got a treat, when James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) scored a podium finish of second in race one. In the championship battle, Bayliss now leads Haga by 77 points, 307 to 230, with Toseland overall third, on 219. RACE ONE In the first 25-lap contest Bayliss had a fight on his hands with Haga until the Japanese rider was forced back by Bayliss’ pace, while Toseland improved from fifth on lap one to score second, some 1.6 seconds behind Bayliss. Less than a second ahead of Haga. The leading group was a spread down to fourth, with Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) taking the first off podium position. RACE TWO In the second race, a searing contest between Haga and Bayliss was fought out right to the last corner, with Haga taking his first win of the season. A glory day for his team was completed by Andrew Pitt, who went third, ahead of the superb charge from PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse rider, Regis Laconi. VARIETY IS THE SPICE AFTER TWO BRANDS RACES Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) scored fifth place in the first race, and took seventh in race two. His team-mate Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) could not get into permanent podium contention, scoring a sixth place in each race, dropping him further from the championship fight, to fourth, on 193 points. Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) showed well early in each race, but could not get into the top five positions on race set-up. He scored a seventh and an eighth. Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda) had to fight back from lowly first lap positions, after qualifying only 18th, to score one eighth place and one ninth, suffering from problems with his quick-shifter in race two. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) looked to be capable of two top five finishes in each race, but fell in peculiarly similar circumstances, when his machine clipped the trackside kerbing in each race. MIDFIELD BATTLEFIELD FEATURES TRUE TALENT Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Berik Ducati) completed the first race top ten, as he did in race two, with Laconi ninth in the opener. Wildcard rider Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) scored an impressive top 11 finish, after a battle with five other riders in race one. He was forced out in race two, when his machine lost forward drive. Behind Hill in the opener came such SBK regular luminaries as Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox), Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France Ipone), Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) and final point scorer, Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France Ipone). In the second race, the last points were taken by Lanzi (in 11th), first race crasher Michel Fabrizio (DFX Honda), Abe, Gimbert and Suzuki privateer, Vittorio Iannuzzo (Celani Suzuki). Pierfrancesco Chili (DFX Honda) failed to score finishes in either race, but made a final lap to wave goodbye to his British fans, in what will be his last SBK race at this venue. Steve Martin missed out on a single point for the Foggy Petronas team, by finishing 16th in race two. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP A Yamaha 1-2 at Brands leaves the World Supersport Championship in a state of complete parity between the main warring factions for the title itself. Broc Parkes’ first win of the year, from his team-mate Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) pushes him to within 12 points of the championship lead, which is now shared on 131 points by Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) and Curtain. Charpentier was sixth in the race itself, still recovering from his pelvic and collarbone injuries, behind fourth placed Robbin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports) and top wildcard man, Cal Crutchlow (Northpoint Ekerold Honda). Stephane Chambon (Gil Motorsports Kawasaki) had a happy outing at Brands, taking seventh place. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP Luca Scassa (EVR Corse Ormeni Racing) pounced on a mistake from last lap leader Ayrton Badovini (Biassono Unionbike MV Agusta) to secure his first and MV Agusta’s second win in the Superstock category. Alessandro Polita (Celani Suzuki Italia) looked a likely winner for some time, and finally looked like having to settle for third until the final corners, when he capitalised on Badovini’s misfortune to score second, and extend his championship lead. Polita now sits on 115, with Badovini on 109, and Scassa on 96. SUPERSTOCK 600 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Xavier Simeon (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) scored the 600 Superstock class win from Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Xerox) after a 12-lap fight around Brands at the end of raceday itself. His win extended Simeon’s lead over Canepa to 39 points, 140 to 101. NEW STYLE ASSEN AWAITS SBK IN SEPTEMBER The ninth round of 12 SBK weekends will take place at the newly remodelled Circuit van Drenthe in Assen, between 1 and 3 September. More, from a press release issued by Team Klaffi Honda: Two Top Ten Positions for Alex Barros at Brands Hatch More than 115.000 spectators attended the 8th round of World’s Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch and transformed the area around the race track into an immense party zone. The fans enjoyed the unique atmosphere at Brands Hatch and the breath taking races. For Alex Barros it was a weekend under severe conditions. He raced here never before and had to start from position 18 in the 5th row of the grid. But Alex did a great job on the bumpy and technical track, where the set-up of the suspension is extremely important. Starts worked well in both races and Alex proved his performance and experience. He did his very best and finished 8th in the first heat. In the second race in the afternoon Alex achieved position 9. After these two top ten positions at Brands Hatch Alex is still 5th in the standings of the Championship. Alex Barros: “Brands Hatch is a fascinating track but also may be the toughest for the set-up of the bike. It was a hard day today and in the second heat I had a problem with the quick shifter. This took some time and therefore I finished only 9th in the second heat.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Tyre problems at today’s eighth-round World Superbike Championship race at Brands Hatch was a frustrating one for Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra and left current World Champion Troy Corser unable to finish higher than sixth in both races. His team mate Yukio Kagayama was equally disappointed with a fifth in race one and seventh in race two – also due to tyre problems. Today’s first race at the Kent circuit in England saw a tremendous battle between series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati), Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) and James Toseland (Honda), which lasted most of the 25-lapper. Bayliss made the break towards the end and took the chequered flag just over one-and-a-half seconds ahead of Toseland with Haga third ahead of his team mate Andrew Pitt. Race two was much of the same except this time it was Haga who was the more determined and, after yet another terrific battle, he crossed the line for his first win of the year. Bayliss took second, but this time the final podium place went to Pitt, who had charged through from eighth place at the start. Troy Corser – Race 1: 6th, Race 2: 6th: “That was a very frustrating day today and I’m not at all happy. In the first race the rear tyre went off after 10 laps and all I could do was to try and hold on as best as I could. I was pretty happy with the front tyre, so we stayed with that one for race two. For the second race we chose the hardest rear we could, and, although it was better, it wasn’t good enough to keep up with the pace of the leaders. James Toseland was a problem in both races because he is always so difficult to pass, and when you are fighting like that, you lose time. I’m frustrated because, like Brno, I felt that I could’ve gone quicker. I’m going to use the break to do double training and get even fitter because I have to try something. I certainly don’t want to end the season not being able to challenge the leaders.” Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 7th: “I am very, very angry and disappointed today because I wanted to do well in front of my English fans and get two podiums to make up for last year. In both races I had the same problem – the tyres went off after about five laps and I had very little grip from then on. The tyres felt strange – like old tyres – and we don’t understand why completely. It was very difficult to keep going, but I wanted to finish the races. I couldn’t push any harder because I knew I would crash if I did. I chose soft tyres for both races and they should’ve given good grip, but they didn’t. We have a short break now and I am determined to get better results in the next races. I need them!” More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: IN A DIFFICUL DAY GOOD RACE FOR GIANLUCA NANNELLI AT BRANDS HATCH Brands Hatch week end went on to be unlucky for Scuderia SC Caracchi; just a fantastic race by Gianluca Nannelli in Supersport carried once more the smile on the team crew face. In Superbike Roberto Rolfo, in a bad starting position, has not been able to get rid of the adversary’s group and finished twice in 18th place, a position which is not at his talent level. “Today I had a not positive couple of races.” has been the disappointed comment by Roberto Rolfo. “Unfortunately I didn’s got a good start to find the space to pass at both starts. In race-1 I was still suffering for yesterday crash and just at the end I’ve been able to ride a bit better. During race-2 I tried to find a passage at the first corner, but they closed all the way and I remained in the trap; the trying to recover I made some mistake and I lose something more too. Once more in the final laps I rode better, with a good pace. Now I want to look at the next rounds with the will to redeem my season. We’ve scheduled some test to find a good solution for the problem that we have in the slow corners. The team’s guys have been fantastic to repair the bike crashed yesterday that was very damaged and this work went on all the night long. Also for their diligence I would some good result in the next rounds.” From Supersport race arrived the only noteworthy new of the day. Gianluca Nannelli found immediately the feeling with the 749R and he made an excellent race that got him the eight final position. Some difficult during the qualifying gave him the fourth row on the starting grid, but Nannelli recovered from the back witha very fast pace. The selection of a medium tyre for the front has been positive, because after the first laps “Nanna” improved his race pace just to score his fastest lap three laps to finish. The last lap has been perfect, with a double overlook of Camier and Roccoli ending eight just behind the past world champion Stephane Chambon. “Today I rode with the leather I had at Imola the past year, because I was sure in a good race on this track.” said a smiling Gianluca Nannelli “I made the correct selection of the front tyre and the medium tyre got me the possibility to be fast during the final laps. It’s a pity not to start before, at the first split I was only 16th, more as 3 seconds behind the leader, and the I lose a lot of time to pass Veneman, Stigefelt,, Berger and Vizziello. I showed that the Ducati 749 is still a great bike and I’m grateful to the team crew that made a splendid work, as our bike was the fastest today too. I would to dedicate this race to Franco Farnè which is the father of this bike and that today has been forced to be far from here, keep it up Franco.” Stuart Easton is quite disappointed of today happening; after a good start that allowed him to earn several position a problem to the front brake lever forced him to stop. “I started quite well, at the first split I was jet in 18th position and I was riding well.” said Easton back in the pit “The at the beginning of the third lap someone touched me on the fron brake lever and I’ve been forced to join the pit.” Finally Luka Nedog finished a race and he is quite satisfied of the result: “I’m satisfied to finish the race.” Has been Luka Nedog’s comment “I started from the back and to earn positions was quite difficult, but in the first stage I had the same pace as the group, then in the final I slowed a little bit, but I’m however satisfied for this result.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: TOSELAND SCORES A PODIUM AND STAYS THIRD OVERALL James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) leaves his home round at Brands Hatch with one podium more in his 2006 season haul, in third place in the championship, after finishing second and fifth in today’s 25-lap Superbike races. He now has 219 points, 11 points behind second place and 88 behind the lead. Race one had two Winston Ten Kate Hondas in the leading group for a time, before Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) fell on lap five, having already been passed by his team-mate Toseland. The Englishman, cheered on by a vocal local crowd, made inroads into Bayliss’ lead, but could not match the final pace and lost out by a margin of 1.657 seconds. Behind, Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR) who had qualified only 18th, out of the Superpole competition, fought through to eighth place. Fortune deserted the DFX Treme Honda riders Michel Fabrizio and Pierfrancesco Chili in race one, with double Brno podium finisher Fabrizio falling on lap six, and Chili retiring on lap 11. In the second race of the day Toseland found the traction from his rear tyre less than he expected, despite not changing any significant settings on his machine. He was battling to a possible win until he lost grip, and slid back through the field to finish fifth. The second race was won by Noriyuki Haga, with Bayliss second. Bayliss leads the championship by 307 points to Haga’s 230. Muggeridge had the same experience as that which caused his race one no-score, crashing out after hitting a trackside apex kerbstone with his machine. Barros scored ninth in race two, after his quickshifter failed on lap five. Fabrizio, who had been fighting with a tucking front end on his machine all weekend, rode steadily at the start of race two, to score an eventual 12th. Chili retired from race two, having made a jump start, and being dropped out of a possible point scoring position after his ride through penalty had been taken. Toseland had mixed feelings after his home round had been completed, feeling second in race two was all he could get, but feeling robbed of at least competing for a race two win. “In race one, when Troy and Noriyuki were battling hard in there, I was able to catch them,” said Toseland, who had qualified fourth. “But near the end Troy put a good three or four laps in which were very strong, and it pulled a gap out, which was frustrating. I’m happy to be up on the podium at Brands Hatch for a change. In race two I just didn’t have the same grip as in race one, and from about then laps in I was struggling to keep the pace. I am really disappointed because I knew I could have got the best possible result, but it was great to take at least one podium in front of all these fans at Brands Hatch.” Barros found Brands Hatch a difficult nut to crack in setup terms, having qualified 18th, and experiencing problems in race two. He is fifth overall, on 166 points. “I had a problem with the quickshifter in race two, when it broke after five laps,” he stated “That lost me a lot of time and the bike was wheelying a lot. I think this is the toughest track for set-up this year.” Muggeridge is looking to put a disappointing race day behind him, after a sparkling third place in Superpole qualifying. He is now 15th, on 66 points, after two no scores. “I’m really disappointed to have crashed twice in the same way when the bike hit the rumple strips,” said Muggeridge. “We all worked very hard this weekend so thanks to the team for making the bike go so well that we could qualify on the front row. I’m just looking to Assen now to make up for this race day in the best way we can.” Fabrizio was looking to Brands to repeat his giant-killing double podium from Brno, but found it a hard weekend after failing to get an optimum front set-up. He is now tenth overall, on 87 points. “The problem all weekend was finding a set-up that stops the front tucking under,” said Fabrizio. “That’s part of the reason for my first race fall.In race two I just had to ride at a reduced pace, as I could not get the feel from the front I wanted.” Chili’s eventful day ended with a lap of the track in the course car, to wave goodbye to all his British fans who attended his last Brands Hatch race weekend of a long SBK career. “In race one the battery frame failed and it was hitting the rear suspension, so it was necessary to retire,” said Chili. ” In race two, after I had taken the pit lane penalty, I did a couple of laps and then realised it was not worth continuing. I wanted to do the lap in the car because the British fans have been so good to me throughout my career.” WSS and SBK classes each head to Assen for round 9, between 1 and 3 September. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: SUPERMAN BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) TAKES DUCATI’S 25OTH WORLD SUPERBIKE WIN AT BRANDS HATCH Brands Hatch (UK), Sunday 6 August: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) notched up Ducati’s 250th victory in the World Superbike Championship in race 1 at Brands Hatch today as he powered his 999F06 to a ninth win of the season. The 37-year-old Australian, running Superman ReturnsTM graphic designs on his bike, leathers and helmet, held off the attacks of Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) and then James Toseland (Honda) before pulling out a slight lead to win. “I had a bit of a battle with Nori but I didn’t show all my cards. I had to follow him for a while but I was pretty much on the limit myself. Then Nori started to get a little bit slower so I passed him. I could see that James was coming and thought that this was the time to go because once James got there, there was no way he was going to let go. I put three or four laps in really good and that was it.” It was a similar battle for victory in race 2 but this time Haga had the edge over Troy in the end. “I love having a hard and fair race with Nori and as much as I wanted that second win, I probably messed up a little bit when I let Nori pass twice. I wanted to have a look at his form and the second time I shouldn’t have done it but we’ve increased our points lead a little bit so I’m really happy with the weekend.” Lorenzo Lanzi finished the two races outside the top 10 after starting from eleventh place on the grid. “I got a good start in race 1 but it was a disaster at the first curve when I made contact with Nieto and Hill and lost some places. From the mid-point of the race onwards I was lapping in good times but then I got caught up in the midfield group and I was unable to get past Hill. In race 2 I got a better start, the bike was going well and I had the feeling that I had at Brno. But then I started to have a few problems with the tyres and slipped back. Pity because I really wanted to do a good race at Brands. Hopefully the last four rounds will go better and I can finish the championship in style.” RESULTS – Race 1: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox); 2. Toseland (Honda); 3. Haga (Yamaha); 4. Pitt (Yamaha); 5. Kagayama (Suzuki); 6. Corser (Suzuki); 7. Walker (Kawasaki); 8. Barros (Honda); etc. Race 2: 1. Haga; 2. Bayliss; 3. Pitt; 4. Laconi (Kawasaki); 5. Toseland; 6. Corser; 7. Kagayama; 8. Walker; etc. POINTS – Riders: 1. Bayliss 307; 2. Haga 230; 3. Toseland 219; 4. Corser 193; 5. Barros 166; 6. Pitt 157; 7. Kagayama 126; 8. Lanzi 96; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 317; 2. Honda 267; 3. Suzuki 259; 4. Yamaha 259; 5. Kawasaki 140; 6. Petronas 4. DUCATI’S WINS – The Italian manufacturer notched up its 250th WSBK win at Brands Hatch and leads the wins chart by a huge margin, followed by Honda on 87, Yamaha on 38, Kawasaki on 34 and Suzuki on 21. These are the previous milestones in Ducati history: Win # Race Rider Bike model 1 Donington 1988 race 2 Marco Lucchinelli 851 25 Misano 1991 race 1 Doug Polen 888 50 Mugello 1992 race 2 Raymond Roche 888 75 Assen 1993 race 1 Carl Fogarty 888 100 Salzburgring 1995 race 1 Carl Fogarty 916 125 Misano 1997 race 1 Pierfrancesco Chili 916 150 Monza 1999 race 2 Carl Fogarty 996 175 Brands Hatch 2001 race 2 Ben Bostrom 996 F01 200 Monza 2003 race 1 Neil Hodgson 999 F03 225 Monza 2004 race 2 Regis Laconi 999 F04 More, from a press release issued by Team Yamaha Motor France – Ipone: The 3 riders all finish both races Like in Brno for the last races, Norick Abe, Sebastien Gimbert and Shinichi Nakatomi finish the 2 races, with Abe and Gimbert earning points two times. This is a great satisfaction for the team and proves the quality of the Yamaha R1s, the parts and the tuning. After satisfying qualifications with Sebastien Gimbert in Superpole, the riders of the Team Yamaha Motor France-Ipone were 16th (Abe), 17th (Gimbert) and 27th (Nakatomi) after the first lap of race 1. While Shinichi Nakatomi learned the difficult Brands Hatch track, Abe was 14th at half distance and Gimbert 16th. Norick Abe had a great fight with well known riders (Alex Barros, Regis Laconi, Fonsi Nieto, and Lorenzo Lanzi) and finished 13th. Sebastien Gimbert also had to fight hard with pugnacious opponents (Martin and Iannuzzo) and he finished 15th. The start of race 2 was better for Abe who was 13th after one lap, Gimbert 19th and Nakatomi 23rd. At half distance, Abe was 11th, Gimbert 17th and Nakatomi 18th. It was a great race in front a large audience (115,000 spectators). Then Abe finished 13th, Gimbert 14th and Nakatomi 17th. It is the fourth time in a row that the 3 riders finish a race, which never happened before to a team in the history of the Superbike World Championship. Norick Abe: “My practices were not good. In race 1, I fought with a group including many riders. The bike moved a lot but it was better. In race 2, I started well. I made good lap times. Then I had two troubles, with Tommy Hill retiring right in front of me and a minor gearbox problem. It was then difficult for me to stay concentrated.” Sebastien Gimbert: “In race 1 I had a good start, then somebody hit me in turn 2 and I lost a few positions. On lap 4, my rear tyre lost some efficiency. To finish in the points I gave everything I had in the last four laps. Race 2 was also good and I am happy to finish two times in the points.” Shinichi Nakatomi: “It was difficult for my first time here, but my lap times were better and better. I hap a better feeling. We changed the setting for race 2, but the grip was still not good. It was a difficult weekend but it will be better at the next race.” Martial Garcia (team manager): “I’m reasonably happy to have the 3 R1s two times at the finish. Shinichi Nakatomi progressed a lot on this difficult track where he raced for the first time. He was regularly faster and faster, including in the last laps of the race. Sebastien Gimbert earned a few points, despite a tyre problem in race 1. His rear tyre was too soft and not hot enough, so he chose a harder one for race 2. Norick Abe fought in a large group of good riders. But the slippery track did not help him. We have 6 bikes finishing the races and 4 of them in the points, this is a correct result.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: DISAPPOINTMENT AND FRUSTRATION FOR TROY Troy left Brands Hatch both frustrated and disappointed. Thanks to tyre problems in both 25-lappers, all he could show for his endeavours was a pair of sixth places and that meant he was unable to close the gap on the leaders in the championship. Runaway series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) dominated the races, taking one win apiece. It was win number nine for Bayliss, but remarkably it was Haga’s debut win of the season. In race one, Bayliss finished over one and a half seconds ahead of local crowd favourite James Toseland (Honda), with Haga third. Fourth was Pitt (Yamaha), with Kagayama (Suzuki) and Troy sixth. In the second race, Haga’s margin of victory over Bayliss was a mere tenth of a second. Third was Pitt, with Laconi (Kawasaki) fourth, Toseland fifth and Troy sixth. TROY – Race 1: 6th, Race 2: 6th It’s hard to say how I feel after a day like today. I suppose I’m both disappointed and frustrated because I expected so much more. In a way, today was a bit like Brno. There I felt I was better then the bike, and here at Brands I felt the same. The problems in both races were the same – tyres. The rear tyre went off in race one after ten laps and from then I just couldn’t keep up with the leaders. I was faster in some places then James (Toseland), but once he got past, I found it difficult to re-pass him. I was happy enough with the front tyre, so we kept the same one for race two, but we changed the rear to the hardest one available. The bike felt a bit better, but once again I found it hard to maintain the same pace as the leaders. Something has got to change, because I don’t like being in this position. I’m going to do extra training over the next three weeks and see if that helps at all, but I don’t want to finish the season unable to run with the top guys.
