Former World Superbike and Supersport Champion Fabrizio Pirovano won the second round of the Suzuki GSX-R European Cup at Monza today in comfortable fashion in front of a huge crowd. Pirovano, on his home circuit as a non points-scoring ‘Wild Card’ entry, rode smoothly and controlled the race from the second lap. Belgian Xavier Simeon made a good start and led Pirovano at the end of the first lap. But he decided not to play around and charged into the lead on lap two. From then on in he was never headed on the way to the chequered flag. Simeon was way ahead of third-placed Philipp Hafeneger, so settled into second spot in the race, safe in the knowledge that although Pirovano would win, his ‘Wild Card’ status meant that he wouldn’t score any points. Fabrizio Pirovano – 1st: “I just had to win here – my home track – and even though I don’t race regularly, the feeling when you win is something special. As I said before, Monza is special, so winning here is very special. The youngster Simeon rode well all weekend and he is going to be a real star very soon. He’s fast and aggressive, but he has an old head on his shoulders and he knows what to do on the race track.” Xavier Simeon – 2nd: “It is no disgrace coming second to Pirovano, because he’s a racing legend. And he’s been around Monza more than any other racer for sure. I enjoyed the race today and I’m happy with the 25 points, but it would have been nice to beat him. Maybe I’ll do it the next time we are in the same race.” Race Result: 1 Pirovano, 2 Simeon, 3 Hafeneger, 4 Van der Marel, 5 Delhalle, 6 Castellani, 7 Mahr, 8 Junod, 9 Beretta, 10 Seidel. Championship Points: 1 Simeon 50, 2 Hafeneger 33, 3 Mahr 30, 4 Van der Marel 25, 5 Delhalle 21, 6 Castellani 21.

FIM Superbike World Championship Monza, Italy May 7 Race Two Results: 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F06), 18 laps, 32:17.705 2. Troy CORSER (Suz GSX-R1000), -1.916 seconds 3. Noriyuki HAGA (Yamaha YZF-R1) -6.479 seconds 4. Alex BARROS (Hon CBR1000RR), -10.227 seconds 5. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), -11.910 seconds 6. Andrew PITT (Yam YZF-R1), -17.551 seconds 7. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Honda CBR1000RR), -17.720 seconds 8. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), -17.825 seconds 9. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-10R), -22.873 seconds 10. Roberto ROLFO (Duc 999F05), -31.603 seconds 11. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F06), -31.610 seconds 12. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), -34.282 seconds 13. Fabien FORET (Suz GSX-R1000), -35.273 seconds 14. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), -35.306 seconds 15. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F05), -40.522 seconds 16. Norick ABE (Yam YZF-R1), -51.516 seconds 17. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Suz GSX-R1000), -56.396 seconds 18. Gianluca NANNELLI (Hon CBR1000RR), -58.679 seconds 19. Lorenzo ALFONSI (Yam YZF-R1), -59.135 seconds 20. Norino BRIGNOLA (Duc 999RS), -60.991 seconds 21. Marco BORCIANI (Duc 999F05), -72.581 seconds 22. Lorenzo MAURI (Ducati 999RS), -86.383 seconds 23. Franco BATTAINI (Kaw ZX-10R), -86.954 seconds 24. Ivan CLEMENTI (Duc 999RS), -13 laps, DNF, crash 25. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), -15 Laps, DNF, mechanical 26. Steve MARTIN (Foggy Petronas FP1), -16 laps, DNF, mechanical 27. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000), -16 laps, DNF, mechanical 28. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Duc 999RS), -17 laps, DNF, mechanical 29. Craig JONES (Foggy Petronas FP1), -18 laps, DNF, crash FIM Superbike World Championship Point Standings (after 8 of 26 races): 1. Bayliss, 175 points 2. Corser, 139 points 3. Toseland, 97 points 4. Barros, 95 points 5. Haga, 93 points 6. Pitt, 79 points 7. Lanzi, 59 points 8. Rolfo, 46 points 9. Abe, 40 points 10. Nieto, 37 points 11. Fabrizio, 36 points 12. Xaus, 34 points 13. Walker, 33 points 14. Laconi, 31 points 15. Muggeridge, 30 points 16. Kagayama, 24 points 17. Nakatomi, 18 points 18. TIE, Pierfrancesco Chili/Foret, 10 points 20. TIE, Borciani/Neukirchner, 9 points More, from a press release issued by FGSPORT Group: BAYLISS TAKES THE DOUBLE AT RECORD PACE BAYLISS PLAYS PATIENCE AND TAKES BOTH POTS With the Monza weather proving to be gloriously sunny, it shone brightest of all on Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) as he scored the wins in race one and two. He had serious problems from Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga on occasion, but taking the new lap record of 1’46.815 in race two to boot, he performed immaculately once again. RACE ONE The opening 18-lap race at Monza was the personal property of Bayliss, who won by over three seconds from eventual second place man Alex Barros, who had to work through the pack in assured fashion. Troy Corser took a close third, with Noriyuki Haga just squeezed off the podium in fourth. A last gasp attempt to get on terms with this trio resulted in James Toseland crashing at the Parabolica on lap 17. A multiple rider first corner pile up, involving 7 riders in total, reduced the midfield and allowed the top riders to make a clean break at the earliest possible opportunity, as the rest picked through the fallen bikes and riders. No riders were seriously hurt in the crash. RACE TWO Bayliss had a three rider fight with Corser and Haga in race two, before stretching the legs of his loping Ducati twin to secure his second win of the day, and his fifth SBK race in a row. A slower starting Barros claimed fourth place, when a battle between himself and Toseland was terminated by Toseland slowing as his bike ran out of fuel. Toseland was clear of the following pack when trouble struck, and took fifth. BAYLISS EXTENDS LEAD BUT CORSER STILL IN TOUCH Bayliss now sits on a meaty 175 points from a possible 200 so far, while 2005 champion Corser is still well in the hunt with seven rounds remaining, having scored 139. A close battle is developing for third, with Toseland on 97, Barros on 95 and Haga on 93. AUSSIES COME ON LEAPS AND BOUNDS On another good day in SBK for Australian riders, Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) scored a fifth and a sixth, putting smiles on the faces of his team, which is based only a couple of kilometres from Monza. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) finished one place behind Pitt in each race, an encouraging pair of results for a rider recovering from recent spinal injuries. KAWASAKI RIDERS UP AND DOWN Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) ran with the leading bunch in each 18-lap race and enjoyed his team’s best individual finish of the weekend, with seventh in race one. He was forced out of race two with an electrical problem, and his team-mate Fonsi Nieto scored the top Kawasaki slot, in eighth, one place up on Chris Walker. Nieto was one of the unlucky seven who crashed in the first chicane of race one, an event in which Walker finished 11th. ROLFO MAKES THE TOP TEN, ABE RACES AND NAKATOMI SHINES Robby Rolfo (Ducati SC Caracchi) scored an eighth and a tenth place at Monza, in front of his home fans, and was the best scoring home rider of the weekend. Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France Ipone) raced on Sunday despite his huge crash of Friday, and also missing all of Saturday’s practice. Taken out by the melee on lap one of race one, he rode to 16th for pride’s sake in race two. His team-mate, Shinichi Nakatomi, had two good rookie rides at Monza, taking tenth and 12th places. LANZI TOP TEN AND THEN 11th Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) did not have his best home weekend, running to a ninth and 11th place finish. A miserable Monza for Michel Fabrizio only gave him two points for 14th in race two, while Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Berik) was one of the first corner fallers in the opener, and took the last point on offer in race two. WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP Monza’s WSS race provided the best race of the Supersport season so far, and delivered a new winner, 19-year-old Yoann Tiberio (Megabike Honda). Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) made his usual incredible start and scored an early lead, but this time around his start was simply too fast, and he was penalised with a stop-and-go penalty. He recovered from this – and a further unplanned off track excursion while braking – to score an incredible third, and take a new lap record of 1.51.403 along the way. Rising star Robbin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports Honda) scored a strong second place, after Tiberio’s main rival for the win, Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany), suffered a dramatic machine failure on the start/finish straight of lap 13. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston ten Kate Honda) clashed fairings on the final corner, with Roccoli claiming the fourth place on offer. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Megabike Honda) crashed out of contention, alongside Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha team Italia). Wildcard rider Stuart Easton scored a magnificent sixth on his first ride on the SC Caracchi Ducati. Charpentier’s astounding ride to third, and Curtain’s no score, conspired to give Charpentier a 31 point lead with four races gone, with Harms third on 52 and Tiberio fourth, with 48. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP Alessandro Polita (Celani Suzuki) jumped to the immediate lead in the Superstock 1000 race, with Danilo Dell’Omo (TCM Team Cruciani Corse) and Ricardo Chiarello (Lightspeed Kawasaki) in the second podium slots. At the end of lap three Chiarello had pushed through to second and was closing on the championship leader from then on. He was unable to match the speed of the Suzuki man, but took a close second, only 0.357 from the win. Badovini made it a good day for the local MV factory, taking third on his Biassono Unionbike F4. In the championship Polita leads Badovini, with 50 points to Badovini’s 32 and Chiarello third on 22. SILVERSTONE NEXT UP FOR SBK HORDES Silverstone, on May 28th, will form the first of two British races for the SBK field this season. More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) suffered a crash in the opening race, after fighting for a top five finish, and despite running low on fuel on the last lap he scored fifth in race two, to keep his third place in the overall championship chase. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) made an assured comeback from his recent spinal injury to score a sixth and seventh, only losing out places as the final laps unfolded and his energy levels dipped. In the first race Toseland saw an opportunity to make his race long high pace count after losing touch with the leaders in the first stages of the 18-laps. After a big wobble had disrupted his braking power, he fell after entering the Parabolica corner too quickly, when trying to make up ground and find the slipstream of the group in front. He ran off, lost the front on the grass and landed on his head and neck as he tumbled through the gravel. His team-mate Karl Muggeridge almost led the race at one point, but dropped back slowly to score a top six on his return from injury. In the second 18-laps race Toseland, despite the discomfort of his sore neck, was battling for fourth with fellow Honda rider Alex Barros, but ran out of fuel and had to concede the points to his closest championship rival. Muggeridge had his second good race of the day, but had to give ground to his countryman Andrew Pitt, and did well to hold off Fonsi Nieto over the line, ending his second race seventh. Toseland sits third overall, on 97 points (two ahead of Barros) with Muggeridge 15th, on 30. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “To be honest the weekend didn’t really bring us what we were hoping for. We worked hard all the weekend to make the bike better and better. The crash for James in the first heat didn’t help him, in terms of confidence for the second and his number one bike was destroyed, so we also had to move to his number two bike, which was just a little bit different. For Karl I am just glad that he brought in two solid results, good strong top tens. It shows he is recovering and the result is something we can build on for the future.” James Toseland SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Race 1: DNF Race 2: 5th Championship Position: 3rd with 97 points) “I’m not happy with the crash in race one, and not happy with the conclusion of the race in race two. We ran out of fuel and that allowed Barros to come by. Enough said about that. But we’ve got some work to do, to try and get the power down. This circuit was better for us for sure but we have a lot more work to do. But I am prepared, and the team is prepared, to do the work required. So we can only move onwards and upwards from here. It’s not over yet and we will battle to the end. I’ve got confidence that we can improve.” Karl Muggeridge SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Race 1: 6th Race 2: 7th Championship Position: 15th with 30 points) “We had a pretty good weekend, all things considered. I’m just a bit disappointed that I am not a bit fitter and I had quite low energy. I had good speed, so that was a positive thing after being out for a while. We have a good break to Silverstone now, so I can work on myself. All in all, I’m satisfied with my comeback rides.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Monza (Italy), Sunday 7 May: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) extended his World Superbike winning streak to five as he notched up another two wins at Monza to add to his race 2 triumph in Australia and his double at Valencia. The 37-year-old, whose return to the championship this year after three years in MotoGP, has been nothing short of sensational, now leads the table by 36 points from his closest rival Troy Corser (Suzuki), who twice finished on the podium today. The wins were Troy’s fifth and sixth at the high-speed Autodromo, and his third double win at Monza to go with the same results in 2001 and 2002. “I love coming to Monza and I’ve got fond memories of the place ever since I first arrived here with Ducati in 2000 but to win like I did today is pretty special. Ernesto Marinelli, my main man, had a few solutions this morning to solve the bike’s stability, he’s normally right and we didn’t really have any problems at all” declared Troy after race 1. “The second race was a bit harder, because the guys got a bit of a jump and Corser and Haga made a good first few laps, while I was with James for a bit and it was difficult to get past. Eventually I caught the two in the front. Troy and I played a bit of cat-and-mouse but the most important thing was that we got away from Nori and it came down to us two in the last few laps. I love to do well here in front of all the Italians, there’s just something special about the place, I’ve done the double here today and the last time I was here I was lucky enough to get the same result. I think I’ve got the best team in the paddock and a big thanks to everyone for these wins today”. Two disappointing races for Lorenzo Lanzi, who was unable to repeat his Valencia form after struggling to get to grips with the Monza circuit from Friday onwards. “After the excellent results at Valencia, I thought I could do better at Monza because I had always done great races here with the Superstock and the 749″ commented Lorenzo. “But the fact that I had never been here before on a Superbike maybe conditioned my entire weekend. I tried to be the best Italian on the track, and came close but it wasn’t to be. I clearly had problems right from the Friday morning and I had to struggle. We will now try and get back to the front at Silverstone”. RACE 1: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox); 2. Barros (Honda); 3. Corser (Suzuki); 4. Haga (Yamaha); 5. Pitt (Yamaha); 6. Muggeridge (Honda); “¦ 9. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox). RACE 2: 1. Bayliss; 2. Corser; 3. Haga; 4. Barros; 5. Toseland (Honda); 6. Pitt; “¦ 11. Lanzi. POINTS (after 4 of 13 rounds): Riders 1. Bayliss 175; 2. Corser 139; 3. Toseland 97; 4. Barros 95; 5. Haga 93; 6. Pitt 79; 7. Lanzi 59; 8. Rolfo 46. Manufacturers 1. Ducati 176; 2. Suzuki 149; 3. Honda 124; 4. Yamaha 113; 5. Kawasaki 57; 6. Petronas 4. More, from a press release issued by Team Klaffi Honda: Sunday May 7 the first heat of World’s Superbike Championship at Monza. Alex is third in the front row of the grid and here he goes! A good start for Alex but then he is blocked by some other riders in the first corner. Alex is on the brake and he comes back from the first lap on 12th position. But there are only 23 riders still on the track. Seven riders were involved in an immense crash in the first lap. Alex attacks! In the third lap he is already 8th and does with a 1’47.027 the best lap of all the riders in the race! He is ultra fast and he needs his full concentration. Kagayama crashes just in front of him. Alex manages the situation and goes on and on. He passes Laconi and Muggeridge and rides on 4th position. Bayliss is leading. Haga and Corser are in front of Alex and the Brazilian is hunting them. Alex catches the slip stream and starts a great fight against these both. And Alex gets them. After some breath taking laps Alex finishes second after Troy Bayliss. Alex Barros: “This was a real good race! In the first corner I had a problem because there was too much traffic. And the worst moment in the whole race was, when Kagayama crashed just in front of me. I really had to struggle to miss him. After this things turned very well for me. The slip stream games were great. I’m very happy and thanks to the Klaffi Honda Team. They gave me a great machine this weekend!” Superbike II At 15.30 Alex Barros starts again from the first row in the grid. And as in the heat before Alex is in the traffic jam in the first corner. Hard work again for Alex. Fighting and passing the riders in front of him takes a lot of time. Finally he is on 5th position behind Toseland and puts pressure on him. And Alex has success. In the last lap he passes Toseland and finishes 4th in the second heat today. Alex Barros: “The second heat today was very similar to the first one. But this time I caused a problem by myself. I lost about two seconds in the 5th lap after a manoeuvre with Muggeridge. After this I had no chance to close the gap and I finished 4th. We changed a little bit the suspension today and the Fireblade was perfect for Monza. I know that have to improve the start and I will concentrate on this during the next test.” Team Manager Klaus Klaffenböck: “After the podium in the first race we expected an excellent result like this again in the second heat. All in all the weekend was okay. Alex was the best Honda rider. But we head always straight for a top three position.” Superbike I 1. Bayliss (Ducati) 2. Barros (Klaffi Honda) 3.982 3. Corser (Suzuki) 4.218 Superbike II 1. Bayliss (Ducati) 2. Corser (Suzuki) 1.916 3. Haga (Yamaha) 6.479 4. Barros (Klaffi Honda) 10.227 Championship Standings 1. Bayliss 175 2. Corser 139 3. Toseland 97 4. Barros 95 5. Haga 93 6. Pitt 79 7. Lanzi 59 8. Rolfo 46 9. Abe 40 10. Nieto 37 More from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR) secured a superb second place finish in the first SBK race at Monza, and then went on to underline his return to form with a fourth place in race two. His race results in Italy bring him closer to James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) in the championship chase, with Toseland crashing out of race one while fifth and then scoring fifth in the second race. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Honda Ten Kate CBR1000RR) had a more than respectable comeback to action after his recent back injury, qualifying one place ahead of Toseland in seventh and then posting sixth and seventh place finishes. A not so happy day for Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda CBR1000RR) and Gianluca Nannelli (DFX Treme Honda CBR1000RR) saw them both involved in a seven rider crash at the start of race one, with Fabrizio the only points scorer in race two. In the opening race fine weather allowed the 30 starters a clean holeshot, but after a crash involving Gianluca Nannelli, Michel Fabrizio and five others, the field was almost immediately reduced to 23. Alex Barros played a superb game of slipstreaming and patience, passing riders until he reached his eventual second place finish, behind winner Troy Bayliss. He had qualified third in Superpole. Toseland’s attempt to get back into contention on the final lap saw him fall from fifth, at the Parabolica on the 17th lap. His brake pads had been shaken loose after a violent wobble exiting the Ascari chicane, and reduced his immediate braking effort at a key time. His team-mate Karl Muggeridge enjoyed an instantly rewarding return to action, scoring sixth place. In the second race Troy Bayliss secured the win, his fifth straight victory, with Barros the highest placed Honda rider again, in fourth. Toseland was fighting with Barros for this position, but his machine began to run out of fuel on the last lap, and he had to slow over the line. Muggeridge was a tiring seventh after so long out of action, and Fabrizio battled hard to finish 14th. Bayliss enjoys a lead of 175 points to Troy Corser’s 139, with Toseland third on 97, and Barros fourth with 95. Fabrizio is 11th on 36, Muggeridge 15th on 30. Barros, who has not raced at Monza since the mid eighties, was happy with his Monza efforts, and those of his team. “In the first corner I had a problem because there was too much traffic,” stated Barros after the first race podium ceremony. “The worst moment in the race was when Kagayama crashed right in front of me. I really had to struggle to miss him. After that things went well for me and the slipstreaming games were great. The machine was also great this weekend. Because of my start in race two it took me a lot of time to get to the leading positions, which probably stopped me challenging for another podium.” Toseland was understandably disappointed by his race results, but happy to still be third overall. “I’m not happy with the crash in race one, and not happy with the conclusion of the race in race two,” said Toseland. “We ran out of fuel and that allowed Barros to come by. Enough said about that. But we’ve got some work to do, to try and get the power down. This circuit was better for us for sure but we have a lot more work to do.” Muggeridge had every reason to be happy with his comeback at Monza, and was only let down by his strength and stamina in the final laps of the races. “We had a pretty good weekend, all things considered,” stated Muggeridge. “I’m just a bit disappointed that I am not a bit fitter and I had quite low energy. I had good speed, so that was a positive thing after being out for a while. We have a good break to Silverstone now, so I can work on myself. All in all, I’m satisfied with my comeback rides.” Fabrizio had his second difficult weekend in succession, multiplied by it being at his home circuit. “In the first race the crash was an incredible thing, because I fell without knowing what had happened,” said Michel. “In race two from the start the bike was OK, until half of the race was finished. After that, the tyres started to go and it was difficult to ride in the corners. I’m not happy because this was a big weekend.” Nannelli was involved at the start of the first corner, first race fall, having already suffered a hard crash in qualifying on Friday, which helped to keep him out of Superpole qualifying. “In race one I crashed out in the first corner,” said Nannelli. “I don’t know why you never remember your own crashes. In race two the bike was very good in terms of the suspension and the tyres. When Clementi crashed I went off the track and lost some time. Afterwards it was impossible to get back to the same position as before.” Silverstone hosts round five of the Superbike and Supersport championships, and runs between 26 and 28 May. More from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser rode his heart out at today’s World Superbike fourth round at Monza to take two well-deserved podiums on his GSX-R1000. The reigning world champion showed his ‘never give up’ spirit in both 18-lap races: He had front brake problems in race one and nearly crashed twice, but still managed third place behind Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and Alex Barros (Honda). And in race two, he and Bayliss traded the lead for most of the 18-lapper, but his Suzuki could not quite match the Ducatis’ acceleration out of the turns and when Bayliss pulled out a small advantage Corser could not push any harder and catch up. Bayliss crossed the line to take his second win of the day, with Corser second and Noriyuki Haga third. It was an unlucky day for team mate Yukio Kagayama: In the first race, he got taken out when James Toseland highsided next to him and crashed. And in the second, he was forced to retire with clutch problems. Team Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Fabien Foret finished 13th in both races and scooped six points. Troy Corser – Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 2nd: “Today, like at Valencia, I rode as hard as I could and when you do that and don’t win, you just have to reach out and shake the hand of the winner. In race one, I had some front brake problems. The lever was inconsistent and sometimes it’d be ok and sometimes it would come nearly all the way back to the bar! That made it a bit entertaining, I can tell you! I nearly crashed a couple of times, so in the end I was happy to get on the podium. “There were no real problems in race two and there was just no way I could have ridden any harder. The Ducati can accelerate out of the turns like no other bike – especially the four cylinder ones – and their traction control allows Bayliss to get on the gas hard when the bike is still leant over. We cannot do that, and that is where we lose ground and time. It’s a little frustrating to ride so hard and not win, so we’ll have to figure out what to do and try and get our own back in Silverstone.” Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: DNF: “Today I am not a lucky man. Really, it’s not that I had no luck, I did have luck, but it was all bad luck! In the first race I was next to Toseland when he highsided and we touched. I went down and crashed but the impact of my bike helped to stay on his bike and recover, so he was a lucky man. In race two, I had clutch problems and it was impossible to continue so I had to pull in. I hope for better luck next time.” Fabien Foret – Race 1: 13th, Race 2: 13th: “I was not so happy with my result in the first race because we had some small problems, I made a good start but then a little problem with my front tyre meant I couldn’t push hard and so I didn’t enjoy the race. I was much happier with race two because I was involved in a good battle with Lanzi, Nakatomi and Fabrizio. We used the same bike as race one, but just changed the settings a little and it felt much better. Also, my lap times were much more consistent. I am a little disappointed overall because before this weekend I wanted to get into the top 10, so now I will try and do it in the next round in Silverstone.”

FIM Supersport World Championship Monza, Italy May 7 Race Results: 1. Yoann TIBERIO (Hon CBR600RR), 16 laps, 30’14.618 2. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), -1.924 seconds 3. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Hon CBR600RR), -4.255 seconds 4. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), -7.224 seconds 5. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR), -7.499seconds 6. Staurt EASTON (Ducati 749 R), -9.015 seconds 7. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), -9.117 seconds 8. Johan STIGEFELT (Hon CBR600RR), -10.866seconds 9. Javier FORES (Yam YZF-R6), -10.997 seconds 10. Sebastien CHAMBON (Kaw ZX-6RR), -21.842 seconds 11. Tatu LAUSLEHTO (Hon CBR600RR), -25.332 seconds 12. Stefano CRUCIANI (Honda CBR 600RR), -25.478 seconds 13. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF R6), -26.654 seconds 14. Vesa KALLIO (Yamaha YZF R6), -34.012 seconds 15. Kai Borre ANDERSEN (Suz GSX-R600), -38.406 seconds 16. Maxime BERGER (Kaw ZX-6RR), -39.084 seconds 17. Mauro SANCHINI (Yam YZF-R6), -45.191 seconds 18. Tomas MIKSOVSKY (Honda CBR 600RR) -49.322 seconds 19. Miguel PRAIA (Hon CBR600RR), -49.345 seconds 20. Chris PERIS (Yam YZF-R6), -51.732 seconds 21. Andrea BERTA (Yam YZF-R6), -53.567 seconds 22. Vladimir IVANOV (YZF R6), -56.480 seconds 23. Greg LEBLANC (Hon CBR600RR), -1’31.254 seconds 24. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6), -12 laps, DNF, mechanical 25. Sebastien LE GRELLE (Hon CBR600RR), -12 laps, DNF, mechanical More, from a press release issued by Winston Media: Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) lost his perfect record of 2006 season race wins after 18 laps at Monza, but in finishing third he arguably had his most impressive performance of the year. His team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) survived a first lap incident and a last lap clash with another rider to finish fifth, scoring valuable championship points. Charpentier’s race saw him penalised for a jump start from pole position, meaning that he had to return from a clear lead to enter pits to take a ride-through penalty, losing some 11 places on the way. He took his already brilliant level of riding to a new plateau of excellence on lap eight, with a 1’51.403. Once again drama unfolded as Sebastien ran on at the chicane, but despite losing more places again, he battled back to finish an incredible third. In doing so he extended his championship advantage to 31 points, as his main championship rival Kevin Curtain failed to finish. Sofuoglu was not part of the early leading group as he was held back in 20th place after a controversial first lap. His progress through the field was equally impressive to his team-mate’s and he would have taken fourth but for a contact with another rider on the final time around the Parabolica. His finish puts him ninth overall. Ronald Ten Kate – Team manager “That was probably the most exciting race for a couple of years in the Supersport category. Sebastien clearly jumped the start so I don’t even want to discuss it. He had to take his ride through and we made an organisation in pit lane to tell him when to go again. Immediately afterwards he broke the lap record twice with an amazing 1.2 seconds over the old record. I am sorry that he again lost time at the chicane when he ran on, and as the timesheets tell us, it was a further five seconds. He could even have won the race if it was not for that. I am very happy for Seb because he is now 31 points ahead, and it was good to see Tiberio winning. When we cannot win it is good to see another Honda win. Kenan also had a difficult race, and he almost had to start the first lap from last position after the big crash at the first chicane. He almost finished fourth but he shifted one too many back before the last corner, so he ended up fifth. I am happy with him, he showed himself to be a very good racer. Despite the lack of a win this race will live in my memory for a very long time.” Sébastien Charpentier WSS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (3rd Championship Position: 1st with 91 points) “It was a very long story today. An incredible 16 laps. After taking the jump start penalty it was necessary to try very hard to come back to the front. After some very hard braking I ran on at the chicane so it was more difficult again. A very tough race. But I am very happy to finish third after all that and my package was fantastic today. My Honda was incredible and the Pirelis were so good. A blown engine for Kevin Curtain was a very good development for me in the championship. I am also very happy for Tiberio, who had a difficult start to the championship.” Kenan Sofuoglu WSS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (5th Championship Position: 9th with 27 points) “The comeback was not so bad, but at the start I made a mistake. The real problem was in the first chicane, when a rider crashed and took some others out. I completely lost my exit there again and I was, 24th, and then 20th at the end of the first lap. I thought maybe I could get some points after that happened. Lap by lap I overtook many riders and then I realised that I could overtake a few more. I could have had fourth but another rider bumped me and took me out of my line on the last corner. Fifth was good but it should have been better.” More from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: Honda riders continued their domination of the 2006 World Supersport Championship, but unlike the first three races of the season, world championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) was not the winner. That honour went to WSS rookie Yoann Tiberio (Megabike Honda CBR600RR) who turned an eighth place qualifying performance into an impressive victory in front of a sun-drenched Italian crowd. Honda riders have won every race this season and Monza delivered the first all Honda podium of the season to boot. Honda now leads the Manufacturers’ Championship by 27 points, from Yamaha. The 19-year-old Frenchman scored his win in dramatic fashion, when early leader Charpentier was punished with a stop-go penalty for a jump-start. Tiberio thus found himself in an eventual two-rider battle for the win until his rival Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) was forced out of contention. He only had to keep a safe distance between himself and eventual second placed rider Robin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) to take a final margin of victory of 1.924 seconds. Behind the leading battle, pole winner Charpentier had dropped to 11th place, broke the lap record immediately after his stop/go, ran off track down an escape road soon after and still returned to the action to score a remarkable third place. With Curtain not scoring, he extended his championship lead to 31 points, with Harms overall third on 52 and Tiberio fourth with 48. Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) was 20th on lap one, having qualified seventh, but fought back to a fine fifth place, entering the top nine overall with 27 points. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) had the great misfortune to be involved in a crash with another rider, and was taken out on lap three, when lying in fifth place. He had qualified third and was in a good position to compete with all except the runaway early leader, Charpentier. Tiberio could not dream of a win before raceday but once he got his chance he took it with both hands. “I had a strange race today,” said Tiberio. “I started not so well but I made some good laps and passed some riders, and when Fujiwara and Vizziello crashed I pushed hard. I had a beautiful battle with Harms and Curtain and when I saw that Harms was two seconds behind, I kept the gap with a clear focus, especially when I saw that Charpentier had to return to the box. I was happy with the bike and thanks for the work of the team from Phillip Island onwards. I want to continue in this way.” Charpentier once more missed out on a Monza win, but was relieved to make amends for his early mistake, and even extend his series lead. “It was a very long story today, an incredible 16 laps,” said Charpentier. “After taking the jump start penalty it was necessary to try very hard to come back to the front. After some very hard braking I ran on at the chicane so it was more difficult again. A very tough race. But I am very happy to finish third after all that and my package was fantastic today. My Honda was incredible and the Pirellis were so good. A blown engine for Kevin Curtain was a very good development for me in the championship. I am also very happy for Yoann Tiberio, who had a difficult start to the championship.” For Sofuoglu, Monza’s result was a disappointment but after his early race demotion to 24th on the track, his fifth was a similarly impressive result to Charpentier’s. “The comeback was not so bad, but at the start I made a mistake,” said Sofuoglu. “The real problem was in the first chicane, when a rider crashed and took some others out. I completely lost my exit there again and I was, 24th, and then 20th at the end of the first lap. I thought maybe I could get some points after that happened. Lap by lap I overtook many riders and then I realised that I could overtake a few more. I could have had fourth but another rider bumped me and took me out of my line on the last corner. Fifth was good but it should have been better.” Fujiwara was largely uninjured in his crash but hugely disappointed by the result of his fall, as it leaves him only 12th overall, on 16 points. “It’s very hard to accept this result after all the hard work we have put in. I am very disappointed, but pleased for Yoann and the team.”

FIM Superbike World Championship Monza, Italy May 7 Race One Results: 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F06) 18 laps, 32:23.100 2. Alex BARROS (Hon CBR1000RR), -3.982 seconds 3. Troy CORSER (Suz GSX-R1000), -4.216 seconds 4. Noryuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), -4.395 seconds 5. Andrew PITT (Yam YZF-R1), -13.605 seconds 6. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), -13.665 seconds 7. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), -14.066 seconds 8. Roberto ROLFO (Duc 999F05), -19.170 seconds 9. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F06), -25.729 seconds 10. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), -28.350 seconds 11. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-10R), -29.639 seconds 12. Sesbastien GIMBERT (Yam YZF-R1), -30.354 seconds 13. Fabien FORET (Suz GSX-R1000), -43.838 seconds 14. Lorenzo ALFONSI (Duc 999RS), -44.312 seconds 15. Ivan CLEMENTI (Duc 999RS), -44.530 seconds 16. Nicole BRIGNOLA (Duc 999RS), -65.782 seconds 17. Lorenzo MAURI (Duc 999RS), -66.502 seconds 18. Franco BATTAINI (Kaw ZX-10R), -89.793 seconds 19. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), -2 laps, DNF, crashed 20. Steve MARTIN (Foggy Petronas FP1), -12 laps, DNF, mechanical 21. Craig JONES (Foggy Petronas FP1), -14 laps, DNF, mechanical 22. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000), -15 laps, DNF, crashed 23. Marco BORCIANI (Duc 999F05), -16 laps, DNF, crashed 24. Norick ABE (Yam YZF-R1), -18 laps, DNF, crashed 25. Vittorrio IANNUZZO (Suz GSX-R1000), -18 laps, DNF, crashed 26. Gianluca NANNELLI (Hon CBR1000RR), -18 laps, DNF, crashed 27. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Duc 999RS), -18 laps, DNF, crashed 28. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F05), -18 laps, DNF, crashed 29. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), -18 laps, DNF, crashed 30. Fonzi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), -18 laps, DNF, crashed

FIM Superbike World Championship Monza, Italy May 6 Superpole Results: 1. Troy CORSER (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:46.058 2. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F06) 1:46.360 3. Alex BARROS (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:46.511 4. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:46.597 5. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:46.978 6. Andrew PITT (Yam YZF-R1) 1:47.015 7. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:47.082 8. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:47.133 9. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:47.156 10. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1) 1:47.627 11. Roberto ROLFO (Duc 999F05) 1:47.975 12. Fabien FORET (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:48.009 13. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F06) 1:48.170 14. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:48.240 15. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:48.969 16. Ruben Xaus (Duc 999F05) no time From a press release issued by FGSport Group: Superpole Monza, Saturday May 6th 2006 CORSER THE SUPERPOLE CONQUEROR FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 2006 CORSER AND BAYLISS BATTLE IT OUT After his number one rival Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) looked to have done enough to take Superpole, 2005 World Champion Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) showed his desire to start the two 18-lap Monza Superbike races on Sunday in number one spot, taking his second Superpole win of the year with a 1’46.058 lap. His time was the best of the weekend so far, the best in the history of Superbike qualifying at this circuit, and over half a second from his previous fastest in regulation qualifying earlier in the day. It was his 36th career Superpole triumph, extending his all-time record of Superpole wins. Bayliss set a personal best qualifying time of 1’46.360 in Superpole for second place on the grid. BARROS AND LACONI COMPETE ROW ONE Four different manufacturers will be represented on the front of the grid, after Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda) promoted himself to third and Regis Laconi blasted his big Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse machine to scoop the fourth fastest time. It was Kawasaki’s best Superpole result of the year thus far. Barros, who last raced at Monza in the mid eighties on an 80cc GP machine, was only deposed from the top of the time sheets by the incredible pace of the battling Aussie duo of Corser and Bayliss, and now starts his fourth SBK meeting from the front row, for the first time in his SBK career. WALKER RUNNING WELL TO LEAD SECOND ROW Regis Laconi’s team-mate starts fifth on the grid for the PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse team, after a personal Monza best pushed him from 11th in regulation. It was Walker’s best Superpole qualifying run of the 2006 season. The top Yamaha rider on show proved to be Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) who scored sixth best time, for a second row start behind Walker. After a recent serious back injury Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) made an impressive comeback and scored seventh in Superpole, one place up on his team-mate James Toseland. KAGAYAMA SURVIVES SCARE TO HEAD UP ROW THREE Corser’s ebullient team-mate Yukio Kagayama secured ninth best time, having survived a scare under braking into the first chicane on his Superpole lap. As he hit the brakes his machine’s rear end tipped up violently, and the rear end snapped round in dramatic fashion. Kagayama’s great escape was no consolation to a disappointed Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) who had an unexpectedly lowly tenth place in Superpole, after a top four ride in regulation qualifying. Having just squeezed into Superpole in 16th place, Roberto Rolfo (Ducati SC Caracchi) sprang forward to 11th, moving up a row and setting himself up as favourite for best Ducati privateer finisher in the races. The last place on the third row was earned by private Suzuki rider Fabien Foret (Alstare Engineering Suzuki), who also hopped up one row. SUPERPOLE DRAMA PUTS XAUS LAST IN SUPERPOLE Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) headed up row four, with Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) and Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda) for immediate company. Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Berik Ducati) had his chances of a strong Superpole performance ruined when his bike encountered a technical problem under braking after the first split, and he had to retire, dropping to an automatic 16th out of 16. FRANTIC COMPETITION SEES TOP RIDERS MISSING SUPERPOLE CUT Riders of proven ability, like Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France Ipone) and Max Neukirchner (Pedercini Ducati) experienced problems that dropped them from the top 16 qualifiers for Superpole. Gianluca Nannelli (DFX Treme Honda) was a lowly 22nd, but a serious doubt for the race itself is Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France Ipone) who suffered a high-speed fall on Friday. Cleared by medical checks but still not feeling fit to ride, Abe missed out Saturday’s timed and untimed practice sessions, and will make a decision about racing on Sunday during morning warm-up. The Petronas triples of Steve Martin and Craig Jones were, as expected, simply outgunned down Monza’s straights, with Martin 23rd and Jones 30th fastest in qualifying. WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) once more dismantled the previous track best in the Supersport class, setting a hugely impressive lap of 1’50.580, even faster than the 1’50.7 he believed was possible after his Friday provisional pole. It was Charpentier’s fourth straight pole of the year, as he goes for win number three. It now makes him equal best qualifier in Supersport history, having joined Karl Muggeridge on a total of 15. Second fastest rider at Monza was local hotshot Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) even if he was over a second behind the lead. Megabike Honda rider Katsuaki Fujiwara was third at his team’s home race, while Charpentier’s closest championship challenger, Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany), claimed the last place on the front row with his fourth best time. Vizziello’s team-mate Massimo Roccoli scored a top five finish, ahead of Stiggy Motorsports rider Robbin Harms. The first rider to qualify thanks to his Friday best was Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston ten Kate Honda) in seventh. A massive 35 riders qualified for the WSS race at Monza. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP Alessandro Polita (Celani Suzuki) scored pole at his local circuit of Monza, with a best time off 1’51.454. PMS Corse Kawasaki rider Alex Martinez upheld Spanish honour in second position, with Luca Scassa (EVR Corse Ormeni MV Agusta) besting the other main MV threat of Ayrton Badovini (Biassono Unionbike MV Agusta). EUROPEAN 600 SUPERSTOCK CHAMPIONSHIP Xavier Simeon (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) won the second race of the 600 Superstock season, taking his points total to 50 after his first round victory in Spain. A last lap battle with Simeon and Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Xerox Junior team) saw Canepa end up on the gravel, giving second place to the hard charging Davide Guigliano (Lightspeed Kawasaki) and third to Alessandro Colatosti (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse). From a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) Takes Second Place Grid Slot In Monza Wsbk Superpole Monza (Italy), Saturday 6 May: Troy Bayliss will line up on the grid for tomorrow’s two World Superbike races at the Autodromo di Monza in second place after a thrilling Superpole battle with his arch-rival Troy Corser (Suzuki), who took the pole. Team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi was unable to make much headway both in qualifying and the one-lap dash and will start the Italian Round from the fourth row of the grid. “In general I’m pretty satisfied because everything’s going quite well” declared Troy. “I’m happy with the performance on the race tyre but all weekend we’ve just been struggling with the bike which is a little bit unstable at high speed. We’ll try some minor change in the morning warm-up but I can deal with the problem. Apart from that the bike is working well and I put a good Superpole lap together. My lap looked a bit hairy but it would be nice if I could relax a bit more on the straight instead of having to work so hard. We’re reasonably happy, but we just want a good day tomorrow with some good weather and I’m sure we’ll see some great racing at the front.” “It wasn’t a good day” commented Lorenzo. “Quite simply we were unable to get the right set-up on the bike and then I was unable to get the best out of the qualifying tyre. I also made a couple of errors during my Superpole lap and here I am, forced to start from the fourth row of the grid instead of the second. Let’s hope for the best tomorrow, it’ll be tough to recover from so far back, if you don’t latch on to the leading group, you can forget about getting back up with the frontrunners”. From a press release issued by Team Klaffi Honda: Alex Barros Starts From Front Row The Parabolica this immense turn at the circuit of Monza is legendary. The whole track is a challenge for the rider. Here he may show his real performance and the power of his bike. And Alex Barros did it! In the second qualifying today he already improved his lap time. With a 1’47.218 he finished 6th after a small mistake in the last lap. Only some hours later Alex demonstrated how fast he really is. He did a 1’46.866 lap time in the free practice and was on third position. In the Superpole Alex was brilliant again! 1’46.511! This was the third fastest lap time in the competition. Only Corser and Bayliss were faster than the Brazilian rider of Team Klaffi Honda. Tomorrow Alex Barros starts from the third position in the front row. From a press release issued by Beowulf Racing: Beowulf’S Henderson Is Nobody’s Fuel At Monza! 2006 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, Rd 2 Monza, Italy Qualifying session 2, Sat 6th May A day of rapid progress was brought to an abrupt end for Beowulf Racing’s Nick Henderson (Suzuki) at Monza today when his bike ran out of petrol towards the end of the final qualifying period for tomorrow’s second-round race in the 2006 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup. Confusion over the amount of time remaining after the session was red-flagged at the midway point led to the machine being run slightly too lean and robbed Henderson of two vital remaining laps. Despite this, the Australian ace has knocked over three seconds from his Friday qualifying time and will line up for tomorrow’s race in 21st position on the grid. After the damp and dismal conditions the riders the riders had to endure yesterday, the famous Italian sunshine finally arrived today. With it came a change of luck for Henderson. Completing 10 laps in the morning free practice session, Nick shaved 1.7 seconds from his time yesterday with a best lap of 1:55.527. Although still in 27th place on the scoresheet, Nick took heart from the fact that he had hauled the Beowulf Suzuki up to being the third fastest bike on the track, clocked at 182.4mph through the speed trap. Things were beginning to look promising for the British team, based at Shepton Mallet in Somerset. True to form, Nick beat his Friday time with his first flying lap of the afternoon qualifying period. Making steady progress, the session was temporarily halted to allow the track to be cleared of the crashed machines of Luca Scassa (MV Augusta) and Matej Smrz (Honda). Both riders were reported to be without serious injury. Expecting the stoppage time to be deducted from the remainder of the session, and knowing that Henderson could still make further headway up the grid, the team elected not to refuel his machine. It was only when the session recommenced that they saw it would be run for the full time allowed. Frantically signaling Henderson to pit again and refuel, the Australian made the choice to stay out and make the best he could from his final few laps. Yesterday Nick had mentioned that he wanted to be two seconds faster today. His final full lap of 1:54.062 was over three seconds quicker than his Friday time and propelled him into 21st on the grid. Retiring at the Variante Interna chicane with 3 minutes still to be run, Henderson had also upped the pace of his machine. The Beowulf Suzuki was now the fourth quickest bike on the track, timed at a top speed of 187mph. At the end of the 30 minutes it was Italian Allessandro Polita (Suzuki) who headed the field with a time of 1:51.454. Afterwards, both Henderson and Beowulf Team Manager Andy Stone were relaxed about their predicament. “I don’t think those last couple of laps Nick missed would have made a lot of difference, to be honest” Stone said later. “The main thing is we can battle for a points-scoring position tomorrow and I’m very happy to be in that position.” Henderson continued: “We learnt a lot in that last session and can make alterations to the bike overnight which will make it faster tomorrow even without me riding it harder, which I obviously will be. That said, I won’t be happy until I’m finishing inside the top ten.” Sunday’s race will be run over 11 laps of the historic Italian 3.6-mile circuit. With Beowulf Racing now in the thick of the action, and Henderson in determined mood, it promises to be an explosive affair. To learn more about Nick Henderson and Beowulf Racing visit ~www.beowulf-racing.com~ From a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: Muggeridge And Toseland Earn Second Row Monza Starts Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) proved that his is back to his best with a fine ride in Superpole, promoting himself to the second row with the seventh best time in the session, putting himself just one place ahead of his team-mate James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda). Muggeridge was forced to miss the previous Valencia round as he recovered from spinal injuries, but has bounced back in fine style at one of his favourite circuits. Toseland was fifth fastest after regulation qualifying, with Muggeridge then ninth, before Superpole altered their fortunes somewhat. Toseland could not improve on his best previous time, unlike the majority of the other top riders, including Muggeridge. Pole position was taken by Troy Corser, from Troy Bayliss. Each rider faces two tough 18-lap races on Sunday, but each has good race form at this circuit, and the Honda CBR1000RR delivers an enviable performance package in race conditions at the 5.793km Monza circuit. Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager “To be honest, I was hoping, almost expecting, to be on the front row with at least one of the riders. But we will have to make do with second row starts from both of our riders. We also know it will be slipstreaming all along through the races; even in practice we have seen it. James and Karl have been up there in terms of race times all weekend, so I would say we are in a good position for sure. It is going to be exciting from start to finish. Karl did a really good job, he is just being confidence step by step, not doing crazy things and not pushing too hard. So the atmosphere in the garage once again is very good.” Karl Muggeridge Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (7th 1’47.082) “To go seventh after what had happened with my accident was not too bad. The second row start is OK, and so far our weekend has gone pretty much OK. My health is good, and my body is not giving me any problems so I’m quite confident for tomorrow. I like the track and I think our bike will suit it.” James Toseland Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (8th 1’47.133) “I’m not too happy because yesterday we had the bike much better and even this morning it was good. But in the free practice this afternoon we tried some new settings and modifications and I didn’t improve my time. I think that affected my Superpole lap and I didn’t use my qualifying tyre in the best way. So we will change the settings back tomorrow and I believe we can get good results.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser lived up to his ‘Mr Superpole” reputation with a stunning performance at the end of the 16-rider Superpole shoot-out in today’s World Superbike qualifying at Monza in Italy. Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) had stormed his way round the 5.793 kilometre course and looked a certainty to claim pole position. But after a cautious start, Corser stormed back into contention with a faster second split. The third split was pure magic, with his drive through and out of the Parabolica virtually perfect that put him three-tenths-of-a-second ahead of his rival. Third quickest was Alex Barros (Honda) with Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) fourth – making it four different manufacturers on the front row of the grid. Corser’s team mate Yukio Kagayama struggled with a very painful right hand and then made a small mistake at the first chicane on his Superpole lap. It was enough to relegate him to the ninth fastest time and a third row grid place. Joining him on row three is Team Alstare Engineering Corona Extra Fabien Foret after posting his best qualifying result of the season so far. Troy Corser – 1st, 1:46.058: “After taking things pretty steadily yesterday because of the weather, it was good to be able to push harder today. The bike worked pretty well and the guys gave me a great package to use on my Superpole lap. In the free practice before Superpole we tried a new qualifying tyre and decided to use it for Superpole. I was a bit cautious on the brakes going into the first chicane, but when I felt that the tyre was going to stick ok, I started to go for it. “The second split was good and the third was perfect. For that I have to thank the whole team. Races at Monza are never easy because it’s so difficult to get a gap on the field and I think there’s going to be a lot of tactics going on. My aim is to stay in the front group, see how it goes, and then make my move when I think the time is right.” Yukio Kagayama – 9th, 1:47.156: “My right hand is a problem. I put on some strapping and that helped a lot, but after one lap or so I started to lose feeling in the hand so I don’t think it’s going to be possible to race with it strapped up. Although there are many fast corners here, there are also some chicanes and that’s where I find it hard getting the bike to change direction quickly enough. “I made a small mistake at the first chicane on my Superpole lap and the back end came off the ground. That lost me a lot of time and I could only finish ninth today. I need two very good starts tomorrow and my hand to last the distance without any big problems. It’s not going to be an easy day!” Fabien Foret – 12th, 1: 48.009: “On the positive side I managed to qualify for Superpole ok and that was good considering the problems I had in practice: things mainly to do with the rear shock. We solved the problem in the afternoon untimed practice and I felt more comfortable straight away. But I don’t think I was aggressive enough on my Superpole lap and so ended 12th. It’s going to be two long, hard races tomorrow and I need good starts if I am to have any chance of good results.”

FIM Supersport World Championship Monza, Italy May 6 Final Qualifying Results: 1. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Honda CBR600RR) 1:50.580 2. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yam YZF-R6) 1:51.753 3. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR) 1:51.829 4. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6) 1:51.878 5. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6) 1:52.006 6. Robin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR) 1:52.082 7. Yoann TIBERIO (Hon CBR600RR) 1:52.466 8. Sebastien LE GRELLE (Hon CBR600RR) 1:52.525 9. Johan STIGEFELT (Hon CBR600RR) 1:52.530 10. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR) 1:52.645 11. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6) 1:52.687 12. Sebastien CHAMBON (Kaw ZX-6RR) 1:52.762 13. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600) 1:52.877 14. Christian ZAISER (Duc 749R) 1:52.915 15. Stefano CRUCIANI (Hon CBR600RR) 1:52.922 16. Kai Borre ANDERSEN (Suz GSX-R600) 1:52.949 17. Tatu LAUSLEHTO (Hon CBR600RR) 1:53.120 18. Javier FORES (Yam YZF-R6) 1:53.235 19. Stuart EASTON (Duc 749R) 1:53.444 20. Vesa KALLIO (Yam YZF-R6) 1:53.612 27. Chris PERIS (Yam YZF-R6) 1:54.250

FIM Superbike World Championship Monza, Italy May 6 Qualifying Results (before Superpole): 1. Troy CORSER (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:46.564 2. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F06) 1:46.984 3. Andrew PITT (Yam YZF-R1) 1:46.985 4. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1) 1:47.007 5. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:47.094 6. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:47.199 7. Alex BARROS (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:47.218 8. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:47.352 9. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:47.414 10. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F05) 1:47.852 11. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:47.866 12. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:47.869 13. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:47.927 14. Fabien FORET (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:47.935 15. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F06) 1:47.937 16. Roberto ROLFO (Duc 999F05) 1:47.959 17. Marco BORCIANI (Duc 999F05) 1:48.122 18. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yam YZF-R1) 1:48.208 19. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Duc 999RS) 1:48.310 20. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1) 1:48.414

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavier Simeon won a hard-fought European Superstock 600 race at Monza today to make it two wins out of two in the Championship. The race was red-flagged after a multiple pile-up on the opening lap in which the young Belgian was a faller. He was struck from behind and crashed – along with three others – at the first chicane, but remounted and rejoined the race in last place. Fortunately though, the red flag meant that the race was restarted all over again. Simeon was then involved in a tremendous fight with Nicola Canepa (Ducati) which lasted until the last lap: The pair had swapped places throughout the nine-lapper, but Canepa lost the front end going into the Ascari and crashed out, leaving the GSX-R600 rider to cruise to victory. Xavier Simeon – 1st: “In the first start, I didn’t know what had happened. I was hit from behind and crashed. I had to lift my bike off another rider and then I got back on and set off after the rest of the field. Fortunately for me, the race was red-flagged and I had another chance to start the race properly. I had a great battle with Canepa and we kept on overtaking each other many times. “On the last lap, I was behind him and deciding where and when to make my move when he suddenly crashed in front of me. After that, all I had to do was to keep my bike upright and take my second victory in the series. It was a perfect start for me and all my team who have done such a good job.” Superstock 600 Results: 1 Xavier Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 Giugliano (I-Kawasaki), 3 Colatosti (I-Kawasaki), 4 Lamarra (I-Yamaha), 5 Costantini (I-Honda), 6 Colucci (I-Ducati). Championship Points: 1 Xavier Simeon 50, 2 Giugliano 30, 3 Canepa 20, 4 Savary 18, 5 Colatosti 16, 6 Barragan 16.