Kenny Noyes finished 13th in the opening round of the Spanish 1000cc Formula Extreme Championship at Albacete on Sunday with his FolchYamaha YZF R1. It was his first race after breaking five ribs in a preseason crash a month ago. “When I tested last week I couldn’t do more than four laps at a time, so we knew 19 laps would be tough,” said the American who completed his first ride for Folch Endurance Yamaha. “I was on the back of the second group for the first five laps and the pace seemed OK for me, but about a second under what I ran here before the crash. I thought I could get into the top ten until the pain started wearing me down. Now I’ve got two weeks to train and get stronger before the Eight Hours of Albacete on May 21st. We should be on the pace by then!” (The FIM World Championship round at Albacete begins on Saturday evening, May 21, at 6:00 PM and finishes at 2:00 AM Sunday morning.) First man under the chequered flag was BQR Honda’s José David de Gea, but the former Team Roberts Modenas 500 GP rider, who subbed for WCM last year in MotoGP, was judged to have passed under yellow flags and given a ten second penalty which dropped him to fourth behind Ivan Silva, Josep Monge and Javier del Amor, all of Yamahas. The Buckler Spanish National Championships were over subscribed in the two nationally televised, principal classes, 125 and Formula Extreme. Only 38 starters were allowed in each. This left a handful of riders off the Formula Extreme grid, but organizers opted to run a consolation race for the 20 non-qualifiers in 125.

MotoGP set-up report – Le Mans, France Le Mans, France 9/5/2005 Round 4: Le Mans, France Track length: 4180 m Opened: 1965 Fastest Lap Ever: 1:34.088 (Max Biaggi, 2004) MotoGP lap record: 1:34.088 (Max Biaggi, 2004) Last year MotoGP winner: Sete Gibernau 2004 MotoGP race summary Carlos Checa took a well-earned second in the 2004 French Grand Prix after a close-fought race with Sete Gibernau (Honda) in Le Mans, France. Although his Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi was unable to overcome the set-up problems which had plagued his YZR-M1 all weekend, the young Italian still finished a strong fourth after a hard fought battle with Max Biaggi (Honda). Checa managed a strong start from second place on the grid to immediately take the lead, with Rossi in third. Pole-sitter Gibernau gradually closed the gap from behind before overtaking Checa on lap 11 and then continuing on to take his second successive Grand Prix win of the year. Meanwhile Biaggi made his move on Rossi and before making up the lost ground on Checa. The Spaniard rode a hard race to fend off the Roman Emperor, eventually crossing the line just three tenths of a second ahead of Biaggi. In the midst of all this Rossi closed the gap between himself and Biaggi, considerably, in the closing stages – passing him momentarily on lap 25, but was unable to stay ahead at the line. 2005 Set-up report YZR-M1 Le Mans is a circuit made up of a number of second gear hairpins linked together by a series of long straights, with only the occasional chicane breaking up the run to the next hairpin. A design of the past, the French circuit causes little concern for engineers regarding set-up. Turns three and five are the most likely passing points and all efforts will be focused towards finding stability under brakes in these areas. The YZR-M1 therefore requires a heavier spring rate on the front to deal with the aggressive weight transfer as the rider dramatically decreases his velocity, while still providing the ability to soak up any bumps entering each of the slower turns. The latter will be taken care of by the Öhlins front-end compression damping. Meanwhile the fork rebound will be dialed in to offer a more controlled return to the fork’s full length. This will be done in an effort to offer stability as the rider makes the somewhat aggressive, almost light switch like transition from the brakes to the throttle in the chicanes. In addition to the heavy fork springs the bike’s attitude will be set to ensure stability with the rear. This is achieved with a slightly lower rear ride-height, lowering the center of gravity, in turn helping to prevent the rear tyre from rising off the track’s surface. Progress made on braking stability throughout pre-season testing and during the first two rounds of the 2005 season will pay dividends at the stop-go styled Le Mans circuit, as will the M1’s lightweight steering character – especially through the quick chicanes. This approach is in fact a compromise, but it’s a set-up that will be the most efficient on a circuit with this classic character. The improved stability will affect the cornering characteristics by reducing its turn-in agility slightly, but experience has shown the Yamaha is one of the most agile bikes in the championship and the slight loss here is minimum compared to the gains made up under brakes. Meanwhile drive off the turns must not be neglected; but with the rear ride-height reduced for stability the ability to hold the racing line, while exiting a corner, is compromised to a certain degree. Therefore a softer rear spring rate will feature on the M1 for good predictable feedback, but it will be dialed in with a high degree of preload to prevent the rear-end from squatting under power as the weight transfers to the back of the bike. As the Le Mans corners are short and sharp the rear shock linkage ratio therefore plays an important role at compensating for the softer spring rate by providing a movement which is initially firmer.

The MotoGP returns to Europe, to the historic track of Le Mans After going to China, the Championship returns to Europe, more precisely to France. Hosting the fourth round of the season is the historic circuit of Bugatti, made in 1965 around the already existing 24-hour track of Le Mans. The track hosted motorcycle GP’s from 1966 to 1995, and then underwent a reconstruction to then come back and host the 2000 French GP. The history of Le Mans is strongly connected with the world of racing cars, in fact, every year the Bugatti hosts the famous 24-hour race of Le Mans. MotoGP uses the permanent Bugatti circuit, which only shares the section from the front straight round to la Chapelle (where the cars go straight on out into the country) with the 24-hour track. The rest of the circuit is quite twisty, but that first corner is one of the fastest bend of the whole championship. The most impressive part of the track in fact is represented by the quick right hand corner at the end of the straight, followed by a chicane which imposes a strong direction change. To take on this part of the track you need cold blood and courage. The track surface was completely resurfaced last year, bettering the grip in an impressive manner. In the past, the grip used to be one of the worse aspects of this track making it a challenge for the Michelin Engineers. Michelin has triumphed in nine of the last ten premier-class GPs held at Le Mans, a track that can be defined the ‘home GP’ of the French tyre manufacturer. #15 SETE GIBERNAU – CALLED TO REPEAT HIMSELF After two consecutive victories on the Bugatti track, respectively in 2003 and 2004, the Vice World Champion, Sete Gibernau is called to repeat himself to put an end to a particularly difficult beginning of season which has not given Sete the satisfaction he deserves for all the good work he and the team have done both in practice sessions and races. Champion of the winter, Sete Gibernau was the absolute protagonist during the first three races of the championship even if he didn’t receive the results he deserved seeing his excellent performance during the race weekends. With the Chinese GP behind him, Sete looks with high hopes to the French GP. A strong rider, mature and determined, the only one able to challenge the world champion for the past two seasons, Sete Gibernau hopes to recuperate the position which he deserves. “The Bugatti is a very particular track, quite difficult, characterized by a very fast right corner at the end of the starting straight, followed by a chicane which demands for a quick change in speed. An impressive piece of the track!! To take on the Bugatti track in the best possible way, a perfect set up is needed and a good feeling with the front tyre is very important. In fact it is the front tyre which determines the vivacity of the bike during direction changes in the chicanes and it plays an important role during the harsh braking which are followed by quick corners” comments Sete Gibernau, two times winner of the French GP in the past two editions. #33 MARCO MELANDRI – CONSTANTLY GROWING Marco Melandri is no longer a surprise, as he was defined by the press at the beginning of the 2005 season. With two podiums and a fourth place, Marco Melandri is in second place in the riders’ championship. Constantly growing, Marco enthusiastically looks towards the French GP, on a track which this Ravenna born rider likes. “I am very happy with this beginning of season. I would have never thought to be in second place in the championship. I feel as though I have the potential to do well, now a victory is no longer a utopia, I want to try to win a race” comments Marco at the end of the Chinese GP which saw him step onto the third place of the podium. Marco is serene, strong, has regained faith in himself and is completely comfortable with the team which supports him in everything.” MARCO MELANDRI’S COMMENTS ON LE MANS “The track of Le Mans is notoriously known as a track characterized by hard braking. This remains the most distinctive trait of the Bugatti track even if the track has become a bit slower after the modifications to the second corner. Le Mans isn’t amongst the most technical tracks of the Championship. Its design is torturous but I enjoy this track as it is fun to ride here. The sector which I prefer is undoubtedly the two final variations. The track offers a lot of overtaking points like the first braking variation point. The Garage Vert corner is a slow corner which needs a long braking and it gives you enough time to overtake. The slower section is represented by the Garage Vert and the final two corners, two corners which are just a bit two slow for a MotoGP. The secret to a good lap in Le Mans consists of favouring your braking and opening of the throttle more than riding your corner perfectly. The best time I can remember on this track was in 2003 when, for the first time in MotoGP, I began from the first row. The worse memory I have is definitely when I fell in 2001. After the fall in Suzuka, it was my second fall of the season. Le Mans is a place for all Northern and Central European fans to come to. It is a GP which is very followed but still the atmosphere here isn’t as warm as it is in Spain or Italy.” LE MANS TECHNICAL DATA Name of the circuit: Bugatti Circuit Opened: 1974 modified: 2002 Lenght: 4.180 m Width: 13 m Pole position: left Right corners: 9 Left corners : 4 Longest straight: 450 m RECORD: Track record: 2004 Max Biaggi (Ita/Honda) 1:34.088 pole position 2004: 2004 Sete Gibernau (Spa/Honda) 1:33.425 2004 Race: 1st Gibernau (Honda) 2nd Checa (Yamaha) 3rd Biaggi (Honda)

GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM PREVIEW French Grand Prix Le Mans, France 13, 14 & 15 May 2005 GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM TAKES TITLE QUEST TO FRANCE The Gauloises Yamaha Team returned to Europe last week in tired but contented mood after continuing its excellent start to the 2005 campaign with another victory at the first ever MotoGP event in China. The historic trip to Shanghai wielded a second 25-point haul of the season for Valentino Rossi and extended his lead in the current World Championship standings to the same margin. Another determined ride against the odds from Rossi’s team-mate Colin Edwards consolidated Gauloises Yamaha’s supremacy in the teams’ and manufacturers’ standings after three eventful rounds. With the bikes and team equipment taking the direct route to France in readiness for this weekend’s eagerly-anticipated fourth round, the past week has provided the riders and staff with a welcome opportunity to take a brief rest and prepare for another assault on the podium at Le Mans. The Bugatti circuit has taken on an extra significance for the entire team as they look to improve on Rossi’s comparatively disappointing Le Mans result of fourth place from last season and confirm the recent progress of the 2005 version YZR-M1. Its advantages over last year’s machine have already been made evident by winning performances from Rossi at Jerez and Shanghai, as well as a solid second place in mixed conditions at Estoril. A repeat podium performance at Le Mans would not only extend the team’s principal objective of defending the championship lead at every round but provide definitive proof that the YZR-M1 is in better shape than ever to continue dominating until the end of the season. The historic Le Mans circuit first opened its gates to the MotoGP World Championship in 1969 and has been home to the series intermittently since then. Circuits at Albi, Rouen, Reims, Clermont-Ferrand, Paul Ricard, Nogaro and Magny-Cours have also played host to the French Grand Prix in the past but the Bugatti circuit has been a fixture on the MotoGP calendar for the last five seasons. VALENTINO ROSSI: UNFINISHED BUSINESS Valentino Rossi has a score to settle at Le Mans, one of only five tracks at which he missed out on the podium last season. The performance of his updated YZR-M1 machine in all manner of conditions during the opening three rounds of the season, particularly the progress made with the wet set-up in Shanghai, has given the World Champion extra confidence in its ability to adapt to any circuit, in any weather. “The changes we made to the M1 on the morning of the race in Shanghai benefited us and helped us to win my first wet race with Yamaha,” explained Rossi. “Basically we made the forks softer, less rigid, and I think these changes will benefit us in the dry as well. “Le Mans is not one of my favourite tracks, I had a difficult race there last year and only finished fourth. I hope we leave there having resolved our problems, whatever the conditions are, and I have a feeling that we will. It can be quite tricky there if the weather is bad, so I really hope we have a bit of luck and it’s dry, but at least if it rains we know we are in a much better position than in the past.” Whilst Rossi has dominated the championship standings ever since taking victory in the opening round at Jerez, his nearest challenger has changed with every Grand Prix. After Sete Gibernau and Alex Barros, the man now closest to the World Champion after three rounds is his young compatriot Marco Melandri, who lies some 25 points adrift. “To beat Sete Gibernau and Alex Barros in those conditions at Shanghai was the most incredible thing,” admits Rossi. “Melandri did really well – also in the dry he is doing a good job. For me to be so fast in the rain was fantastic. I had never won in the wet before with Yamaha, so it was very special and the points are so important. “We were a bit worried over the Shanghai weekend because Gibernau was so fast. Gibernau and Barros are always positive in these wet conditions and I’m sure they expected to beat me in the wet, so the win is also great for our morale!” However, Rossi admits that his biggest threat this weekend could come from an entirely different source, with home favourite Olivier Jacque set for a second appearance after finishing just 1.7 seconds behind the race winner on his return to MotoGP in Shanghai. “I am a bit worried about Olivier Jacque now because before the Shanghai race he said that he was only riding in China as a kind of training to learn the bike, and then he could concentrate on racing in Le Mans. He finished second in China so who knows what might happen in France!” COLIN EDWARDS: BETTER TIMES AROUND THE CORNER Colin Edwards makes his way back to Europe via the same route he headed out to China, having dropped by his home in Texas for a brief visit before completing a journey halfway around the world. The American heads to France hoping for an upturn in the fortunes that have marred his start to the season, the latest being a gear-shifter problem that limited him to eighth place despite a spirited ride through the pack from the fifth row of the grid in China. “It’s been a funny season for me so far and I’m just hoping everything comes together in France,” explains Edwards. “China was very similar to Estoril in that I showed I had the race pace but, through a series of circumstances out of my control, I didn’t get the opportunity to push for the podium. “Nobody is more disappointed about that than myself and I certainly don’t expect to be battling it out for eighth place even at this early stage of the season. The main thing is, though, that the positive signs are there and the whole team is working hard. All we need now is a little turn in luck and we’ll be there. “I don’t mind Le Mans as a circuit too much last year was only my second time there but I set provisional pole position and finished fifth in the race. It’s a real ‘stop and go’ track, as everybody says, with hard braking, tight corners and hard acceleration. We’ll have some work to do with the set-up of the bike but we’ve made a lot of progress over the last few weeks so hopefully we can make it count.” DAVIDE BRIVIO: RESTED AND READY TO GO RACING Gauloises Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio’s insatiable thirst for racing action took him to Pesaro in Italy this weekend, where he was taking part in a round of the Italian Rally Championship as co-driver to Valentino Rossi’s father Graziano. For Brivio it was a welcome chance to take a break from the intensity of the MotoGP paddock as he predicts another highly competitive weekend from his team in France. “The bikes and all the equipment have been flown straight to France from China so the past few days have been a good opportunity for the team to get some rest after an intense start to the season,” explained Brivio. “China was a very important weekend for us; we worked very hard and made some good progress with the setting of the bike in the dry and we completely solved the problems we have had in the past in the wet. Now we are hoping to take advantage of that at Le Mans. “Le Mans is one of the circuits we didn’t do so well at last season, so we want to make up for that with a victory this time around. It was a similar situation at Jerez in the first round of the season and we managed to win there, so it would be really nice to do the same thing in France. Valentino has been able to take advantage of the improvements we have made to the bike in the last few rounds and, if the bike is good again this weekend, we should see Colin join him at the top.” BLAST FROM THE PAST: CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF YAMAHA GLORY Whilst the Le Mans circuit and the rain were two of Yamaha’s most challenging obstacles last season, a combination of both proved to be anything but a problem in the factory’s first win at the Bugatti circuit almost two decades ago. The eighth round of the 1987 500cc season saw Randy Mamola streak to a convincing victory over Honda’s Pier Francesco Chili by some 34 seconds, his second wet weather win that season after taking the opening round at Suzuka by an even bigger margin. “The YZR handled really well and it was always fast through the chicanes, so it was perfect for Le Mans,” remembers Mamola, who went on to finish second in the championship that season to Wayne Gardner. “I’d been on the podium twice before for other factories at Le Mans so to get my first win there with Yamaha was a special honour. “Because of its history it is hard to think of another track so synonymous with racing as Le Mans and in the modern day nobody works harder than them to create an event around the Grand Prix. The fans there are incredible and the feeling you get as they cheer you into turn one is an unforgettable experience especially if you are leading the race!” Mamola raced for no fewer than 14 years at the top level of Grand Prix racing and admits that signing for Yamaha’s factory squad, run by his boyhood hero Kenny Roberts, was one of the highlights of his career. “When I was a 14-year-old I earned a contract with Yamaha USA and my first race bike was a Yamaha TA125. At that time Kenny Roberts was the leading dirt-tracker in America and he was my hero. I used to ask him to sign posters for my bedroom. In 1986 I got the chance to ride for Yamaha in the World Championship and be a part of his team, so it was a dream come true for me.” TECHNICALLY SPEAKING The 4.180 km Le Mans circuit is an archetypal stop-go track, with the added complication of one of the highest speed curves of any circuit on the calendar, just after the short start-finish straight. There are several hairpins and chicanes, calling for not just balance and control under hard and repeated braking, but a neat and swift transfer from full braking to full acceleration on the exit of the corners. With nine right-handers and only four lefts, the track is also particularly hard on one side of the tyres. Firmer front fork settings and spring rates are usually needed to handle the frequent braking demands, whilst a slightly softer rear spring, with a higher than normal pre-load, is adopted to allow the machine to hold a line exiting corners, due to the reduced ride height which will be necessary to help the M1 remain stable under hard braking. VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION Age: 26 Lives: London, UK Bike: Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1 GP victories: 70 (31 x MotoGP, 13 x 500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 143 (51 x MotoGP, 32 x 500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) GP Pole positions: 36 World Championships 6 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 3 x MotoGP) Le Mans 2004 results (Yamaha): Grid: 4th, Race: 4th COLIN EDWARDS: INFORMATION Age: 31 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1 GP victories: – First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 35 Pole positions: – First pole: – World Championships – 2 World Superbike Le Mans 2004 results (Honda): Grid: 1st, Race: 5th

By Beth Wyse Dolgner Vesrah Suzuki took five victories during the WERA Michelin National Challenge Series races at Autobahn Country Club on Sunday. Mark Junge and Tray Batey were the riders responsible for the wins during the eight-lap sprint races at the new track in Joliet, Illinois. Junge took the lead on the first lap of the Open Superstock race on his Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R1000. Batey followed closely on his GSX-R750 but never got past for the lead. The two of them pulled a gap on the field while Arclight Suzuki’s Scott Harwell trailed in third. In 600cc Superstock, Junge had to battle for the lead against Harwell and XT Racing’s David Weber. Junge took the lead on lap four but was not able to break away until the final two laps. Batey won the Heavyweight Twins Superstock race on his Vesrah Suzuki SV1000, winning by nearly half a minute over Cale Swiger. Batey’s second win was in the 750cc Superstock race on his Suzuki GSX-R750, following a red flag for a six-rider crash. Batey pulled away while Harwell, Weber and John Jacobi fought for second. Harwell finally took the second spot on the podium. Batey won the Formula 1 race, again on his GSX-R750, and set a track record of 1:25.9 in the process. Harwell finished second over Jacobi and Weber, riding a Suzuki GSX-R1000. Ben Thompson earned his second consecutive 750cc Superbike victory, riding the racersupply.com Suzuki GSX-R750. He won by 4.9 seconds over Keith Marshall. In 600cc Superbike, Adam Dolney and young teen Josh Herrin had a close race in the opening laps before Dolney pulled away on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Herrin had no competition for second on his Graves Yamaha YZF-R6. The Lightweight Twins Superstock race saw the closest finish of the day. After trading for the lead during all eight laps, Roger Bell edged out Dave Yaakov by just 0.028-second at the finish line. Both riders were on Suzuki SV650s. Kendrick Morrison rode his Honda RS250 to the win in Formula 2 after dominating the race. Throughout the weekend, the Vesrah Suzuki riders all displayed “CJ” stickers on their bikes in memory of Junge’s father and crew member Chris Junge, who passed away a week before the race.

2005 World Superbike championship, round four Monza, Italy Race one Sunday, 8 May 2005 TOUGH MONZA BATTLE FOR MUGGERIDGE Karl Muggeridge recovered to take sixth place in the fourth round World Superbike championship race at Monza today after a start-line incident left him towards the back of the field on the opening lap. His Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Chris Vermeulen, retired from the race on the second of 18 laps at the 5.8km Monza circuit. Starting from the front row with eventual race winner, Troy Corser, Muggeridge was clipped by another rider which damaged his clutch lever. The Australian was able to work his way back through the field, however, to take his best result so far in his debut Superbike season. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “After the performances we have shown through practice and qualifying, that was a disappointing race it was pretty much over for us on the first lap. Karl was quickest in warm-up this morning, with Chris third fastest so yes, we were expecting more. Karl was in 18th place at the end of the first lap but recovered very well after his difficult start. We will have to see what caused the problem with Chris’s bike and hope that both riders can display the form they have showed all weekend in the second race this afternoon.” Karl Muggeridge – sixth “My start was OK and I was pulling off the line all right when I just got hit on the left by another rider. My hand was knocked off the handlebar and the clutch lever was hit. After that, I knew I had to be careful going into the first chicane because I could hear a lot of other riders banging into each other. I got through OK and thought: ‘Well, let’s just give it a go’. I used up my tyres pretty early getting past the guys in front of me and worked the brakes pretty hard, too. I got some points but I was certainly hoping for more. I’ll just have to give it another go in race two.” Chris Vermeulen – DNF “Yeah, not great. I got away pretty good and thought I could certainly stay with the guys in front of me. But it was only the second lap, so you can never tell. I had a little problem with the throttle cable on the first lap of warm-up this morning but when I got some laps in, the bike felt great and I was ready for the race. It’s one of those things I guess and I’ll be giving it my best in race two. We’ve been improving the bike all weekend and I think we deserve a good result.” World Superbike, Monza race one results (18 laps, 104.3kms): 1 Troy Corser AUS (Suzuki) 32m40.906s, 2 Yukio Kagayama JPN (Suzuki) +0.985s, 3 James Toseland GBR (Ducati) +1.040, 4 Regis Laconi FRA (Ducati) +1.757, 5 Andrew Pitt AUS (Yamaha) +8.609, 6 Karl Muggeridge AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) +12.435, 7 Pierfrancesco Chili ITA (Honda) +12.628, 8 Chris Walker GBR (Kawasaki) +16.656, 9 Ginaluca Nannelli ITA (Ducati) +20.481, 10 Norick Abe JPN (Yamaha) +21.119. More, from another press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: 2005 World Superbike championship, round four Monza, Italy Race two Sunday, 8 May 2005 VERMEULEN WINS LAST-LAP MONZA CLASSIC Chris Vermeulen took his first win of the 2005 World Superbike championship in the second race of this afternoon’s fourth round at Monza in Italy. His Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Karl Muggeridge, finished in fourth place behind Regis Laconi and Troy Corser. The 18-lapper around the historic 5.8km Monza circuit developed into a thrilling battle with the top four riders breaking away and swapping positions in each other’s slipstreams. After starting the race from the second row of the grid, Vermeulen battled his way past Muggeridge, Yukio Kagayama and then Corser, passing Laconi on the final lap. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “I’m just so happy. Not only for Chris but for the whole team who have been working so hard this weekend. They really deserve to celebrate tonight after making such a significant step forward in the development of the CBR1000RR. Chris rode a fantastic race and timed his passing move to perfection. I was very pleased for Karl’s fourth place as well, although I think maybe he deserved to get on the podium. His perseverance and determination after the problems of the first few rounds has really impressed me. There are still 16 races left in this year’s championship so anything can still happen. We will hopefully carry this form on to Silverstone and look for even better results there.” Chris Vermeulen – first “That feels so good. We’ve all been working a very long time for that and it’s been hard work. Two second places at Valencia were a step forward but we’ve made an even bigger one here at Monza this weekend. Once I’d got past Troy in that second race I just put my head down to try and catch Regis, who’d spent a long time at the front. I caught him just at the right time on that last lap and managed to hang on. It certainly makes up for the disappointment of not finishing the first race and, overall, it’s been a really positive weekend. We’ve moved everything forward and let’s hope that can continue.” Karl Muggeridge – fourth “I would so like to have got on that podium but I made a little mistake exiting the first chicane on the final lap and Troy managed to open a little gap. I should have beaten him but it wasn’t to be. I tried to pace myself through the race but the pace didn’t ease up at all and I just couldn’t find a way past Chris in the first half. But the bike is much better and it’s been a good weekend for us. There’s still heaps of work to do to improve it in some areas but we’ve got something now that can take us forward for the rest of the season.” World Superbike, Monza race two results (17 laps, 98.5kms): 1 Chris Vermeulen AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 30m49.758s, 2 Regis Laconi FRA (Ducati) +0.582s, 3 Troy Corser AUS (Suzuki) +2.458, 4 Karl Muggeridge AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) +3.379, 5 James Toseland GBR (Ducati) +9.901, 6 Andrew Pitt AUS (Yamaha) +10.076, 7 Pierfrancesco Chili ITA (Honda) +11.116, 8 Chris Walker GBR (Kawasaki) +11.587, 9 Noriyuki Haga JPN (Yamaha) +26.936, 10 Gianluca Nannelli ITA (Ducati) +33.459. Championship points after four of 12 rounds: 1 Corser 182, 2 Yukio Kagayama JPN (Suzuki) 130, 3 Vermeulen 115, 4 Laconi 87, 5 Pitt 60, 6 Toseland 57, 7 Walker 54, 8 Norick Abe PJN (Yamaha) 54, 9 Haga 52, 10 Chili 44, 12 Muggeridge 38 Next round: Silverstone, GB 28 May More, from another press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: 2005 World Supersport championship, round four Monza, Italy – Sunday, 8 May 2005 WINSTON RIDERS SERVE UP MONZA THRILLER Katsuaki Fujiwara won today’s fourth round World Supersport championship in warm sunshine at Monza, beating his Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Sébastien Charpentier, by just three hundredths of a second after 16 laps of the 5.8km circuit. In a thrilling race, both riders fought off the attentions of third placed rider, Gianluca Nannelli, with all three constantly swapping positions by utilising the slipstream affect of Monza’s long straights. The race marks Fujiwara’s second victory of the season, matching Charpentier’s record of two wins, and closes the championship gap on his rival to just seven points. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “That was a beautiful race, to which Nannelli contributed with our own two riders. Katsuaki and Sébastien were able to break away from him for the last couple of laps but Nannelli matched them for speed right up until that point. I have to say they put my heart rate on the rev limiter again by battling so closely on the last lap but it’s fantastic to see them both on the top two steps of the podium for the third time this season.” Katsuaki Fujiwara first “I am so happy to win here at Monza. The team has been working very well all through the season and they deserve this as much as me. Congratulations to Sébastien and Gianluca for a great race. It was not so easy to pass either of them today but my CBR was perfect the engine was very strong and the tyres were fantastic. It was very close with Sébastien on the last lap and we touched a few times, but it’s a World Supersport race and it’s sometimes like that!” Sébastien Charpentier second “I think we put on a very good show today for all the spectators at Monza and those watching on television. It was good fun and I really enjoyed it. Katsuaki was very strong today and I tried very hard to win the race on the last lap. But I shifted down one time too many going into the Parabolica for the last time and ran a little bit wide which allowed Katsuaki to pass me. Second place is good for the championship, though, and another Winston Ten Kate Honda one-two finish is fantastic for the team. We can all celebrate tonight!” World Supersport, Monza results (16 laps, 92.7kms): 1 Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 30m15.930s, 2 Sébastien Charpentier FRA (Winston Ten Kate Honda) + 0.036s, 3 Gianluca Nannelli ITA (Ducati) +2.726, 4 Michel Fabrizio ITA (Honda) +8.043, 5 Kevin Curtain AUS (Yamaha) +8.163, 6 Alessandro Corradi ITA (Ducati) +18.488, 7 Tauto Lauslehto FIN (Honda) +26.566, 8 Broc Parkes AUS (Yamaha) +26.632, 9 Stephane Chambon FRA (Honda) +26.940, 10 Ivan Goi ITA (Yamaha) +37.497. Championship points after four of 12 rounds: Charpentier 90 , Fujiwara 83, Curtain 60, Fabrizio 42, Fabien Foret FRA (Honda) 38, Parkes 37, Nannelli 31, Chambon 31, Lauslehto 23, Javier Fores ESP (Suzuki) 22. Next round: Silverstone, GB 28 May More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: TWO GREAT RACES AT MONZA PRODUCE TWO PODIUMS FOR THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM: TOSELAND THIRD IN RACE 1, LACONI SECOND IN GARA 2 Monza (Italy), Sunday 8 May: The fourth round of the World Superbike Championship at Monza produced two great races today in front of 93,000 fans and in particular two important results for the Ducati Xerox Team following a difficult start to the season. After a superb recovery in race 1, James Toseland takes home an excellent third place behind the two Suzukis of Corser and Kagayama, a real confidence boost for the young reigning champion. While in the second race of the day, Régis Laconi led across the startline on every lap until half way through the final lap, when he was passed by Vermuelen (Honda), who went onto take the win. “In the last few laps I saw on my pit board that someone was behind me but I didn’t have time to see who it was, as I was just trying to keep my small advantage” declared Laconi. “Maybe I pushed too much on my tyre to hold off Troy in the early laps because the left side was becoming very difficult and the tyre was sliding around. But I am very happy because I made a good race result and we pushed very hard to be there today. I really wanted to win today but Chris passed me on the last lap. He was just a little bit faster than me for the last few laps but we will see next time! I gave my best and I am happy when I get a result like that”. “I’m slightly disappointed that the second race wasn’t as good as the first but we had a bit of a spin problem and I wasn’t able to slipstream the Kawasaki and the Yamaha and when I did, after eight laps, the leaders had gone” explained Toseland. “The podium in race 1 was the best bonus for me. It was a race in which I showed everyone, the team and myself that I am capable of repeating my performances of last season. The team has been well-organised all weekend, we found a great set-up at the start and we were able to run two confident races. It’s been a positive weekend all round because I was on the podium and I’m taking a trophy home to Silverstone for the British Round”. RACE 1: 1. Corser (Suzuki); 2. Kagayama (Suzuki); Toseland (Ducati Xerox); 4. Laconi (Ducati Xerox); 5. Pitt (Yamaha); 6. Muggeridge (Honda); 7. Chili (Honda); 8. Walker (Kawasaki). RACE 2: 1. Vermeulen (Honda); 2. Laconi; 3. Corser; 4. Muggeridge; 5. Toseland; 6. Pitt; 7. Chili; 8. Walker. POINTS (after 4 of 12 rounds) : Riders – 1. Corser 182; 2. Kagayama 130; 3. Vermeulen 115; 4. Laconi 87; 5. Pitt 60 ; 6. Toseland 57 ; etc. Manufacturers – 1. Suzuki 191 ; 2. Honda 128 ; 3. Ducati 100; 4. Yamaha 86; 5. Kawasaki 66; 6. Petronas 1. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: World Supersport and Superbike Championships 2005 Round 4 Monza – Italy Temperature: 25C Air, 45C Track Spectator Attendance: 90,000 6-8 MAY 2005 FUJIWARA GIVES HONDA FOURTH WIN OF THE SEASON Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR riders Sebastien Charpentier and Katsuaki Fujiwara once more dominated proceedings in the Supersport class, with the Japanese rider taking the win, his second of the season, after 16 laps of intense and exciting Supersport action. Having fought for most of the race with the Ducati of Gianluca Nannelli, Charpentier (on pole) and Fujiwara (second fastest in qualifying) ended up in a two-rider fight, with an audacious attempted final pass by Charpentier,up the inside at the Parabolica, causing him to run marginally too wide. Fujiwara dived to the inside, causing Charpentier to adjust his line once more, and with the finish line so close to the final corner, Fujiwara held on by only 0.036 seconds. Second row qualifier Michel Fabrizio (Team Italia Megabike Honda CBR600RR) handicapped himself with a dreadful start after selecting the wrong gear, but battled through to 11th by the end of lap one. He finished fourth, unable to reach the slowing Nannelli, and also unable to get clear of the fifth place rider, Kevin Curtain (Yamaha). One small error from Tatu Lauslehto (Team Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) was not enough to take the shine off of another excellent day of high speed education for the class rookie, as he finished seventh out of 20 finishers and was then promoted to sixth after the exclusion of Alessio Corradi. Monza was yet another track Tatu had not seen before qualifying. Fabien Foret (Team Italia Megabike Honda CBR600RR) was excluded from the race for practicing and racing at Monza, in an Italian Championship race, one weekend prior to the Monza World Supersport event. The rider was unavailable for comment after the exclusion, which saw him black-flagged from the first timed qualifying session on Friday. In the championship battle, Charpentier has had his margin of advantage cut to seven points over Fujiwara, 90 to 83, With Fabrizio now fourth overall, on 42. Foret is fifth, with an unchanged total of 38, while Lauslehto advances to ninth, on 24 points. Fujiwara, punching the air in unbridled joy at his hard taken win, now knows he did his championship charge a huge favour at Monza, but was lost in the moment after another classic battle. “The team has been working very hard throughout the season and they deserve this as much as me. Congratulations to Sebastien and Gianluca for a great race. It was not so easy to pass either of them today but my CBR600RR was perfect the engine was very strong and the tyres were fantastic. It was very close with Sebastien on the last lap and we touched a few times but its a world Supersport race and its sometimes like that!” Charpentier admitted to a small error that maybe cost him the race, but knows he still has the upper hand in the points totals. “I think we put on a very good show today, for all the spectators and fans watching at home on TV. Katsuaki was very strong and I tried very hard to take the race win on the final lap. But I shifted down one too many gears going into the Parabolica for the last time and ran a little bit wide, which allowed Katsuaki to pass me. Second place is good for the championship.” Fabrizio, had a bizarre start to what could have been a glorious home race for the lone Team Italia Megabike in the starting line-up. “I rolled up to the line for the start and somehow forgot the gear order. So I tried to start with sixth gear selected. Seeing the rhythm of the raceI knew I could probably stay with the Ten Kate bikes if I had got a better start. I had a six second gap to make up from the first lap and was down in 22nd position at one stage. I arrived late to the leading group after passing almost everyone in the field. So in different circumstances I could have run a fantastic race. I lost more time trying to get free of Curtains Yamaha, because he knew that he could take some of my speed in the slipstream.” Lauslehto, the reigning European Supersport champion who qualified a lowly 13th, was in much more pugilistic form in race conditions. “I got a start to about where I qualified and then I started passing people. I raced with Broc Parkes and Stephane Chambon, then went by them. Then I made a mistake at the fast chicane and ran on, so I had to fight to get past them again. This is a very fast circuit and this was my first visit so I think our season is back on course again. It was very good.” World Superbike Round 4 of 12 VERMEULEN TAKES FIRST HONDA WIN OF THE 2005 SEASON The first CBR1000RR Honda win of the season was particularly welcomed by Chris Vermeulen and the Winston Ten Kate Honda team after a technical stoppage in race one threatened to derail their weekend. Having seen Karl Muggeridge go fastest in regulation qualifying, the team had high hopes for the races, and Muggeridge was to back up Vermeulens win with two strong rides, one against extreme adversity. Pierfrancesco Chili (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR) had two tough races himself, but battled to seventh on each occasion, after the drama of a leaking bike on the startline in what was a shortened race two. His team-mate Max Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda CBR1000R) could not start the event, due to a recent thumb operation. Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda Koji CBR1000RR) had an encouraging Valencia weekend in round three, but found Monza a tough nut to crack, with a pair of 18th place finishes and one race affected by a ride through penalty for a jump start. In race one, a technical problem demoted Chris Vermeulen a non-finisher, while a bad start from Karl Muggeridge, after being hit from the side by another rider, losing his clutch lever immediately, pushed him down to 20th place at one stage. He battled his heart out, finishing top Honda rider, in sixth, despite the obvious handicap of running with no lever for all 18-laps. The race was won by Troy Corser (Suzuki) from his team-mate Yukio Kagayama and James Toseland (Ducati). In race two Vermeulen was part of an eight rider leading group, which eventually condensed to a chase between him and long time leader Regis Laconi (Ducati). Vermeulen swept past on the last lap at the Variante della Roggia, holding a 0.582 second advantage at the flag. His team-mate Muggeridge narrowly missed a podium finish, taking fourth behind championship leader Corser. Vermeulen was understandably delighted with his day, despite race one. “That win feels so good. We’ve all been working a very long time for that first win of the year, and it has been hard work. Two second places at Valencia were a step forward but we’ve made an even bigger one here at Monza. Once I got past Troy in race two I just put my head down and tried to get to Regis, who had been at the front for a long time. I caught him just at the right time on that last lap and managed to hang on. It certainly makes up for the disappointment of not finishing that first race, so overall it has been a very positive weekend.” Muggeridge’s small error in race two was a contributing factor to missing out on the podium, but he too can take a lot more than just points from his Monza experience. “I would have so liked to have got on that second podium, but I made a small mistake exiting the first chicane on the last lap and Troy managed to make a gap. I should have beaten him but it wasn’t to be. The bike is much better and it’s been a good weekend for us. There is still heaps of work to do but we really have something now that can take us forward for the rest of the season. Chili encountered some technical issues with suspension and drive, in comparison to the other top riders. “In the second race I had a better start and I could see the leaders and stay on the back of them for a while. I was riding behind Toseland and I only then I noticed that there was a little difference between my bike and the rest. The general problem is that there is not enough grip on the back and that is stopping us driving off the corners better. For Bostrom, the race pace at Monza was too much for his current package to match and he missed out on points in both races. “I was hoping to do better but I just couldn’t. I was riding at my limit on every lap but this is just where we belonged this weekend. We’ve just got to stick with it and give it everything at Silverstone Its disappointing after Valencia because after that the bike felt good. On May 27 29 at Silverstone round five of both Supersport and Superbike classes takes place. Results SUPERSPORT: RACE : (Laps 16 = 92,688 Km) Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time /Gap 1 / K. FUJIWARA / JPN / Winston Ten Kate Honda / 30’15.930 / 2 / S. CHARPENTIER / FRA / Winston Ten Kate Honda / 30’15.966 / 0.036 3 / G.NANNELLI / ITA / Ducati SC Caracchi / 30’18.656 / 2.726 4 / M.FABRIZIO / ITA / Italia Megabike / 30’23.973 / 8.043 5 / K. CURTAIN / AUS / Yamaha Motor Germany / 30’24.093 / 8.163 6 / T. LAUSLEHTO / FIN / Klaffi Honda / 30’42.496 / 26.566 7 / B. PARKES / AUS / Yamaha Motor Germany / 30’42.562 / 26.632 8 / S. CHAMBON / FRA / Gil Motor Sport / 30’42.870 / 26.940 9 / I. GOI / ITA / Bike Service / 30’53.427 / 37.497 10 / S. LE GRELLE / BEL / Le Grelle Dholda in Action / 30’53.616 / 37.686 11 / J. FORES / ESP / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 30’53.873 / 37.943 12 / B. VENEMAN / NED / Suzuki Nederland / 31’00.128 / 44.198 13 / J. STIGEFELT / SWE / Stiggy Motorsports / 31’03.884 / 47.954 14 / T. MIKSOVSKY / CZE / Intermoto Czech Republic / 31’13.492 / 57.562 15 / M.BAIOCCO / ITA / Lightspeed Kawasaki / 31’21.888 / 1’05.958 Fastest Lap 15° Sébastien Charpentier 1’52.726 185,004 Km/h Lap Record: 2003 Chris Vermeulen 1’52.635 185,150Km/h Riders Championship Standings: 1 CHARPENTIER 90, 2 FUJIWARA 83, 3 CURTAIN 60, 4 FABRIZIO 42, 5 FORET 38, 6 PARKES 38, 7 CHAMBON 32, 8 NANNELLI 31, 9 LAUSLEHTO 24, 10 FORES 23, 11 STIGEFELT 19, 12 VENEMAN 13, 13 VD GOORBERGH 11, 14 LE GRELLE 9, 15 MIKSOVSKY 9. SUPERBIKE Race 1: (Laps 18 = 104,274 Km) Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time /Gap 1 / T. CORSER / AUS / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 32’40.906 / 2 / Y. KAGAYAMA / JPN / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 32’41.891 / 0.985 3 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Ducati Xerox / 32’41.946 / 1.040 4 / R. LACONI / FRA / Ducati Xerox / 32’42.663 / 1.757 5 / A. PITT / AUS / Yamaha Motor Italia WSB / 32’49.515 / 8.609 6 / K. MUGGERIDGE / AUS / Winston Ten Kate Honda / 32’53.341 / 12.435 7 / P. CHILI / ITA / Klaffi Honda / 32’53.534 / 12.628 8 / C.WALKER / GBR / PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse / 32’57.562 / 16.656 9 / G.NANNELLI / ITA / Ducati SC Caracchi / 33’01.387 / 20.481 10 / N. ABE / JPN / Yamaha Motor France-Ipone / 33’02.025 / 21.119 11 / N.HAGA / JPN / Yamaha Motor Italia WSB / 33’04.075 / 23.169 12 / M.BORCIANI / ITA / DFXtreme Sterilgarda / 33’20.780 / 39.874 13 / G.BUSSEI / ITA / Kawasaki Bertocchi / 33’20.986 / 40.080 14 / M.SANCHINI / ITA / PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse / 33’22.390 / 41.484 15 / I. CLEMENTI / ITA / Kawasaki Bertocchi / 33’22.861 / 41.955 Fastest Lap 8° Yukio Kagayama 1’48.082 192,953 Km/ Race 2 : (Laps 17 = 98,481 Km) Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time / 1 / C. VERMEULEN / AUS / Winston Ten Kate Honda / 30’49.758 / 2 / R. LACONI / FRA / Ducati Xerox / 30’50.340 / 0.582 3 / T. CORSER / AUS / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 30’52.216 / 2.458 4 / K. MUGGERIDGE / AUS / Winston Ten Kate Honda / 30’53.137 / 3.379 5 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Ducati Xerox / 30’59.659 / 9.901 6 / A. PITT / AUS / Yamaha Motor Italia WSB / 30’59.834 / 10.076 7 / P. CHILI / ITA / Klaffi Honda / 31’00.874 / 11.116 8 / C.WALKER / GBR / PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse / 31’01.345 / 11.587 9 / N.HAGA / JPN / Yamaha Motor Italia WSB / 31’16.694 / 26.936 10 / G.NANNELLI / ITA / Ducati SC Caracchi / 31’23.217 / 33.459 11 / G.BUSSEI / ITA / Kawasaki Bertocchi / 31’24.942 / 35.184 12 / N. ABE / JPN / Yamaha Motor France-Ipone / 31’25.370 / 35.612 13 / M.SANCHINI / ITA / PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse / 31’26.575 / 36.817 14 / L. CONFORTI / ITA / Guandalini / 31’35.231 / 45.473 15 / I. CLEMENTI / ITA / Kawasaki Bertocchi / 31’37.108 / 47.350 Fastest Lap 14° Chris Vermeulen 1’48.233 192,684 Km/h Lap Record: 2002 Troy Bayliss 1’47.434 194,120Km/h Riders Championship Standings: 1 CORSER 182, 2 KAGAYAMA 130, 3 VERMEULEN 115, 4 LACONI 87, 5 PITT 60, 6 TOSELAND 57, 7 WALKER 54, 8 ABE 54, 9 HAGA 52, 10 CHILI 44, 11 NEUKIRCHNER 41, 12 MUGGERIDGE 38, 13 BUSSEI 31, 14 GIMBERT 26, 15 BOSTROM 19. More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: CORSER AND VERMEULEN SHARE WINS AS HONDA COMES GOOD AUSSIE RULES BUT EVERYONE WINS: Two very different World Superbike races delivered two very different results at Monza, in front of a weekend crowd of 93,000. In race one World Championship leader Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) scored the win in his accustomed strong front-running form, but had to make do with third in race two, as his fellow Aussie countryman Chris Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda) took his first win of the year. It was also the first non-Suzuki success, and had Regis Laconi (Ducati Xerox) been able to hold onto his long-term race two lead, there may have been a hometown win for the Italian manufacturer. RACE ONE: In a pressurised race in windy but otherwise perfect conditions the eventual winner Corser had a real fight after his early lead was eaten into by first Yukio Kagayama and then Regis Laconi. The following James Toseland, having a resurgent ride, made up a four-second deficit to overhaul first Laconi, then Kagayama, before dropping back to finish a close third, behind Kagayama’s flying GSX-R. Laconi was fourth, with Yamaha Motor Italia rider Andrew Pitt dropping back to finish a lonely fifth. RACE TWO: With Corser unable to get a jump on the pack in his usual way, the 17-lap race (docked a lap because of a delayed start and a second sighting lap) grew from an eight rider battle for podium places to a pair of two-rider fights for the top honours. Race leader Laconi was hunted down by Vermeulen, who was to take the 25 points on the very last lap, with Laconi a safe second. Behind, it looked as if SBK class rookie Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) would score his first podium of the year, but Corser proved too strong in the final sector of the race. CORSER EXTENDS ADVANTAGE: Corser may have lost his near 100% record of wins in the last few races, but with his team-mate Kagayama running wide and then falling to retire in race two his championship lead remains, now 52 ahead. Third place is the property of Vermeulen, some 67 points behind Corser, but only 15 from Kagayama. COATS OF MANY COLOURS: Karl Muggeridge scored a sixth and then fourth place today just missing the podiums but writing his name large in real race conditions, after some terrible luck in previous races. Both rides were personal highlights in his four round SBK career. For James Toseland, Monza was vindication of his true talents, and although finishing behind his team-mate in race two, he left Monza with points and pride from both his race performances. YAMAHA’S TOP MAN: Andrew Pitt won many plaudits for perseverance and hard riding on his Yamaha Motor Italia machine, running out fifth and sixth, just unable to stay with the leading groups in either race. His team-mate Noriyuki Haga had another tough weekend, 11th and 9th and not at all happy about his machine set up. PRIVATE HONDAS: Pierfrancesco Chili (Klaffi Honda) had an eventful race two, when a fluid leak from his Honda on the startline began a series of events which would delay the start. He finished his Monza weekend without adding to his win total of four at the classic Italian circuit, but with two seventh place finishes. His team mate Max Neukirchner was ruled out of the weekend due to medical reasons, with Renegade Honda Koji rider Ben Bostrom finishing 18th on two occasions. KAWASAKI KING AND NEW DUCATI ROYALTY: Chris Walker was once more the top Kawasaki rider, on the tail of the big starting group in race two. Two eighth places were his reward for another good display of the speed and prowess of the ZX-10. Just behind him in each race was the SC Caracchi Ducati 999 of stand-in rider Gianluca Nannelli, who was easily the top Ducati privateer on show with his ninth and tenth place finishes, despite race two’s start coming from pitlane. PARK LIFE HARD FOR PETRONAS: Steve Martin and Garry McCoy had another tough day of racing, with Martin falling from race one and McCoy pulling in. In race two McCoy was lapped on his way to 21st place, while Martin retired. SUPERSPORT: An outstanding three-rider race for most of the 16-lap Supersport event was reduced to two in the final couple of laps, with Winston Ten Kate Honda rider Katsuaki Fujiwara holding off his team mate Sebastien Charpentier in an often-physical battle around this classic 5.793 km Monza circuit. A mistake from Charpentier changing gear after a brave pass at the entrance to the last corner allowed Fujiwara to gain the final advantage. Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati SC Caracchi) had a magnificent ride to third, only dropping off the leading pace in the last two tours. Another local, and regular in the championship, Michel Fabrizio (Team Italia Megabike Honda) was fourth, after a mistake with gear selection on the start line dropped him below 20th place away from the line. Kevin Curtain was fifth on his Yamaha Motor Germany machine, immediately behind Fabrizio. In the championship, Fujiwara drew himself closer to the championship lead, with Charpentier on 90 points, Fujiwara on 83 and Curtain on 60. The next rounds of the World Superbike and Supersport series take place at Silverstone, Great Britain, on May 27 – 29. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser took a tremendous win and a hard-fought third place at Monza today and extended his lead in the World Superbike Championship to 52 points over his nearest rival – team mate Yukio Kagayama. Kagayama took runner-up spot in the first race and was in the hunt for a podium in the second when he ran off the track and tipped over at slow speed in the gravel and was unable to restart. In race one, reigning World Champion James Toseland (Ducati) took third to record his first podium of the season. The second race featured a terrific scrap between Regis Laconi (Ducati), Chris Vermeulen (Honda), Corser and Karl Muggeridge (Honda) and went right down to the wire. But although Laconi led on the last lap, Vermeulen passed him on the approach to the second chicane and then held on to take the chequered flag as Corser got the better of Muggeridge in the closing stages to take his second podium of the day. Suzuki continue to lead the Manufacturers Championship with their GSX-R1000 K5 racers on 191 points – 53 clear of Honda. Troy Corser – Race 1: 1st, Race 2: 3rd: “Race one was good and I had no problems at all really. I got off the line well and then made a bit of a break after a couple of laps. But, it is always close here and as the race wore on, the pack closed in on me. Yukio passed me on the last lap, but I went under him and overtook him. We touched briefly, but it was only a minor touch and there was no danger at all. After that I just put my head down and ran to the flag to win by nearly a second. “In race two, I had some problems with the front brakes almost from the start. There was a bit of vibration when I braked hard and then they began to get hot when I was behind Regis and Chris. I think my Alstare Suzuki was as fast as them but I couldn’t brake as hard as I did in the first race. I couldn’t do much about Regis and Chris but I was determined not to let ‘Muggas’ beat me to the podium, so I braked as hard as I dared and managed to hold him off. I had already seen Yukio go off the track so I knew that I had extended my series lead. For us, it is not about winning every race – it’s the championship that counts.” Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: 2nd, Race 2: DNF: “I enjoyed the first race very much – it was good fun. My team gave me a good bike and I was able to keep with Troy-san without any problems. I went past him going into a chicane but then I ran a little wide and he came past under me and maybe we touched – I don’t know. Then I tried to catch and pass him but he was too strong for me. I am happy because this was my first race at Monza and I was second. After Superpole yesterday, it was a good birthday present for me. “The second race was not so good for me. After 10 laps, I made a little mistake when I missed my braking point in one of the Lesmo corners and then went into the gravel. The bike fell over at slow speed and the engine cut out. I tried to restart it but I think some small stones had got in to the airbox because the engine made a funny rattling noise. I knew then it was impossible to carry on. But, I am still second in the championship and one of my favourite circuits – Silverstone – is coming up next.” World Superbike Results: Race 1: Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 3 Toseland (GB-Ducati), 4 Laconi (F-Ducati), 5 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha), 6 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda), 7 Chili (I-Honda), 8 Walker (GB-Kawasaki), 9 Nannelli (I-Ducati), 10 Abe (J-Yamaha). Race 2: Vermeulen (Aus-Honda), 2 Laconi, 3 Troy Corser, 4 Muggeridge, 5 Toseland, 6 Pitt, 7 Chili, 8 Walker, 9 Haga (J-Yamaha), 10 Nannelli. Yukio Kagayama – DNF. Superbike Points: 1 Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 182, 2 Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzu ki Corona Extra) 130, 3 Vermeulen 115, 4 Laconi 87, 5 Pitt 60, 6 Toseland 57, 7 Walker 54, 8 Abe 54, 9 Haga 52, 10 Chili 44. WORLD SUPERSPORT: . Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Javier Fores finished 11th in both timed qualifying sessions and in today’s 16-lap race at Monza. He was thirteenth at the end of lap one but was never able to get any higher than 11th during the race due to suspension problems. Honda riders Katsuaki Fujiwara and Sebastien Charpentier battled for the lead with Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati), but in the end Fujiwara stole victory from Charpentier by just thirty-six-thousandths of a second. Javier Fores – 11th: “I was hoping for a much better result than this today but I had problems with the suspension right from the start and I couldn’t push hard at all. The front was going away from me when I braked and in the end I decided that I wanted to finish the race instead of crashing, so I did what I could. It is disappointing and a bit frustrating but that’s how racing is sometimes. I am hoping for better things in the next round at Silverstone.” Supersport Results: 1 Fujiwara (J-Honda), 2 Charpentier (F-Honda), 3 Nannelli (I-Ducati) 4 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 5 Curtain (Aus-Yamaha), 6 Lauslehto (SF-Honda), 7 Parkes (Aus-Yamaha), 8 Chambon (F-Honda), 9 Goi (I-Yamaha), 10 Le Grelle (B-Honda). 11 Javier Fores (E-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Supersport Points: 1 Charpentier 90, 2 Fujiwara 83, 3 Curtain 60, 4 Fabrizio 42, 5 Foret 38, 6 Parkes 38, 7 Chambon 32, 8 Nannelli 31, 9 Lauslehto 24. 10 Javier Fores (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 23. SUPERSTOCK 1000: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Riccardo Chiarello finished just off the podium in the second round of the European Superstock 1000 Championship at Monza today. He made a superb start and led into the first chicane but was then swallowed up by eventual winner Kenan Sofuoglu (Yamaha) before the first lap was out. Although Sofuoglu was pressurised by Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha) in the closing stages of the 11-lapper, he held on to take his second win of the season. Third went to Craig Coxhell (Suzuki) with Chiarello close behind. Riccardo Chiarello – 4th: “I am disappointed not to have been on the podium today because I feel that my bike had the measure of the Yamahas. But, today I found it was difficult changing direction and so I just could not get to the front at all. The tyres worked ok except in the Parabolica, but they were not the problem. If we can get the bike to work ok, then I am confident that I can be on the podium and maybe beat those Yamahas.” Superstock 1000 Results: 1 Sofuoglu (Tur-Yamaha), 2 Roccoli (I-Yamaha), 3 Coxhell (Aus-Suzuki), 4 Riccardo Chiarello (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 5 Van Keymeulen (NL-Yamaha), 6 Martinez (E-Yamaha) Superstock 1000 Points: 1 Sofuoglu 50, 2 Roccoli 36, 3 Van Keymeulen 31, 4 Coxhell 27, 5 De Marco 14. 6 Riccardo Chiarello 13. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: ROUND 4 MONZA, ITALY 8th May 2005 Race Report 8th May 2005 Monza (Italy) The magnificent high-speed motorsports theatre of Monza featured the fourth round of the World Championships, with Pirelli as the exclusive tyre supplier. Honda proved the first manufacturer to break a run of straight Suzuki wins, taking race two, shortly after Suzuki made it seven in a row in race one. In regular qualifying the fastest laps set by the 2005 riders were 1.1 seconds faster than the fastest laps of the 2004 season, when Pirelli first took over as the single tyre supplier to the series. Race 1 TRACK CONDITION Dry AIR HUMIDITY 21% TRACK TEMPERATURE 37° AIR TEMPERATURE 23° The first 18-lap race of the day was a fraught affair for the eventual winner Troy Corser (Suzuki), being hunted from behind by his own team-mate Yukio Kagayama and eventual third place man James Toseeland (Ducati) Toseland’s return to form and his team-mate Regis Laconi’s fourth place demonstrated that the Pirelli tyres once more gave equal performance to riders of twin and four-cylinder machines. With five different manufacturers in the top eight, proof came early that Pirelli had delivered tyres which riders of all types of machine could use around the high-speed Monza circuit. The average lap time of the riders was 0.8 quicker than 2004. Race Standings: Rider Bike Team Race time 1 Corser Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki 32’40.906 2 Kagayama Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki +0.985 3 Toseland Ducati 999F05 Ducati Xerox +1.040 4 Laconi Ducati 999F05 Ducati Xerox +1.757 5 Pitt Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia +8.609 Race 2 TRACK CONDITION Dry AIR HUMIDITY 20% TRACK TEMPERATURE 47° AIR TEMPERATURE 26° The second race was interrupted just before the start and thus was one lap shorter than race one, to allow for an extra sighting lap. The 17-lap event was won by Chris Vermeulen (Honda) who secured his win only after a last-lap overtake on long time leader Regis Laconi. It was Honda’s first race win of the year, and the first non-Suzuki win of 2005. Of particular importance was the fact that in his pursuit of Laconi, Vermeulen set the fastest lap of the race on lap 14, meaning that the tyres were still working well in hot conditions, of 47°C track temperatures. In third place, Corser extended his championship lead, after his team-mate Kagayama crashed out. For the rears the riders used largely the same tyres, but the riders from each manufacturer used different front solutions. Inside the same team the riders invariably use the same front tyres as each other. This is an indication of how Pirelli can make tyres for all bikes, and once a rider knows that a particular front matches up to his bike’s characteristics, that becomes his favourite front tyre. Pirelli brough five different specs of rear tyre for the Superbike class, up from the normal three (or sometimes four, if a special tyre is available for certain track conditions). The riders tried to use as many types as possible and this gave Pirelli good data to analyse after the event. Race Standings: Rider Bike Team Race time 1 Vermeulen Honda CBR 1000 RR Winston Ten Kate 30’49.758 2 Laconi Ducati 999F05 Ducati Xerox +0.582 3 Corser Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki +2.458 4 Muggeridge Honda CBR 1000 RR Winston Ten Kate +3.379 5 Toseland Ducati 999F05 Ducati Xerox +9.901 World Championship Standings: Rider Bike Team Points 1 Corser Suzuki GXR Alstare Suzuki 182 2 Kagayama Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki 130 3 Vermeulen Honda CBR 1000 RR Winston Ten Kate 115 4 Laconi Ducati 999 F05 Ducati Xerox 87 5 Pitt Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia 60 6 Toseland Ducati 999 F05 Ducati Xerox 57 7 Walker Kawasaki ZX10 PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse 54 8 Abe Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor France 54 9 Haga Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia 52 10 Chili Honda CBR 1000 RR Klaffi Honda 44 TRACK CONDITION Dry AIR HUMIDITY 20% TRACK TEMPERATURE 45° AIR TEMPERATURE 25° In a thrilling Supersport race three riders looked to be in with the chance of the ultimate race win, but in the final laps it was a battle between the Ten Kate Hondas of Katsuaki Fujiwara and Sebastien Charpentier. Fujiwara would win, praising the performance of his tyres, with Gianluca Nannelli’s Ducati third. Team Italia Honda rider Michel Fabrizio fought through to fourth, with the first Yamaha that of Kevin Curtain in fifth. Pirelli Racing Manager, Giorgio Barbier, stated, “It was also a great day for us in Superpsort as the riders proved to be very happy with the solutions we had available to them. There was a real threat from Ducati to win the race, with a completely different type of engine from the Hondas.” Race Standings: Rider Bike Team Race time 1 Fujiwara Honda CBR 600 RR Winston Ten Kate 30’15.930 2 Charpentier Honda CBR 600 RR Winston Ten Kate +0.036 3 Nannelli Ducati 749 R Ducati SC Caracchi +2.726 4 Fabrizio Honda CBR 600 RR Italia Megabike +8.043 5 Curtain Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany +8.163 World Championship Standings: Rider Bike Team Points 1 Charpentier Honda CBR 600 RR Winston Ten Kate 90 2 Fujiwara Honda CBR 600 RR Winston Ten Kate 83 3 Curtain Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany 60 4 Fabrizio Honda CBR 600 RR Team Italia Megabike 42 5 Foret Honda CBR 600 RR Team Megabike 38 6 Parkes Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany 38 7 Chambon Honda CBR 600 RR Gil Motor Sport 32 8 Nannelli Ducati 749R Ducati SC Caracchi 31 9 Lauslehto Honda CBR 600 RR Klaffi Honda 24 10 Fores Suzuki GSX 600 R Alstare Suzuki Corona 23 More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY WINS ONE, TAKES A THIRD AND EXTENDS HIS LEAD Troy won the first of today’s Superbike World Championship races at Monza, took a hard-fought for third in the other and extended his series lead to 52 points over his nearest rival – team mate Yukio Kagayama. Troy always knew that Monza’s two races would be close-fought affairs and he was proved right. But for a front brake problem in the second race though, Troy might even have walked away with yet another double. But, at the end of the day, a win and a podium was a fantastic reward for a job well done and once again Troy showed his rivals that he is the man to beat. Troy led from the start of race one, but always had Yukio and Laconi (Ducati) for company for most of the 18-lapper. Yukio even had the audacity to pass Troy on the last lap, but Troy dived underneath almost immediately and got his team mate back. After that the Japanese rider had no reply and Troy ran out the winner by nearly a second. Current Champion James Toseland (Ducati) overtook his team mate Laconi and took third – his first podium of what has so far been a problematic season for the Briton. Laconi led off the line in the second race, with Troy right in his wheeltracks followed by Kagayama and Pitt (Yamaha). But Troy’s front brakes started to vibrate a little and after that he found it impossible to brake as hard as he had done in the first race. Vermeulen (Honda) came past and then set about Laconi, catching and passing the Frenchman on the last lap before charging to his first win (and the first non-Alstare Suzuki win) of the season. Laconi took runner-up spot and Troy beat off Muggeridge’s (Honda) challenge to claim third spot. TROY – Race 1: 1st, Race 2: 3rd Race 1: The first race was pretty good and I didn’t have any problems at all. Monza always throws up close racing, so I knew that today’s pair of races wasn’t going to be at all easy and I was right. I got a good start off the line and led into the first chicane and although the whole pack was just behind I soon settled into a bit of a rhythm. I knew that Yukio was probably going to be my main threat, but I also had to take notice of the Hondas and the Ducatis. Monza is like a home race for Ducati, so I knew that they would be strong here. Yukio passed me on the last lap, but he ran a bit wide on the exit of the turn and I just dived under him. As we straightened up, we made a little contact, but it was nothing really and not at all dangerous. Yukio tried to come back at me, but I had the better drive and took the chequered flag – my first ever win at Monza! Race 2: I had front brakes problems right from the start of the second race and I noticed it when I felt a vibration. I could go as fast as Regis (Laconi) and Chris (Vermeulen), but I just couldn’t brake as hard as then or as hard as I had been doing in race one for example. Also, when I was behind Regis and Chris, my engine temperature went up and also the brakes got hotter because they were in warm air. When you run up front, the whole bike runs cooler and that makes it work much better. Muggas tried to take third from me, but I was determined not to let him have it. I braked as hard as I dared on the last lap to prevent him getting past when it might have mattered and managed to hold on for third. Of course, a double would’ve been nice, but I guess we have to give the others a chance! Yukio had gone off the track, so I knew that, wherever I finished, I would be further ahead in the points standing. Anyway, it’s not about winning races – it’s the championship I’m after. C ya. Troy RESULTS Race 1: TROY CORSER (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 Kagayama (J-Suzuki), 3 Toseland (GB-Ducati), 4 Laconi (F-Ducati), 5 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha), 6 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda), 7 Chili (I-Honda), 8 Walker (GB-Kawasaki), 9 Nannelli (I-Ducati), 10 Abe (J-Yamaha) Race 2 : Vermeulen (Aus-Honda), 2 Laconi, 3 TROY CORSER, 4 Muggeridge, 5 Toseland, 6 Pitt, 7 Chili, 8 Walker, 9 Haga (J-Yamaha), 10 Nannelli Points 1 Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 182, 2 Kagayama 130, 3 Vermeulen 115, 4 Laconi 87, 5 Pitt 60, 6 Toseland 57, 7 Walker 54, 8 Abe 54, 9 Haga 52, 10 Chili 44 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Yamaha Motor Italia rider Andrew Pitt put in two strong performances to end the day as Yamaha’s top points scorer at Monza. The Australian recorded a fifth and sixth place finish. Making two good starts he pushed hard at his team’s home circuit, forming part of an eight rider freight train in race two, only a fraction of a second behind James Toseland at the culmination of his day’s work. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) ground out a ninth place in race two, following on from 11th in the opening race, with the second race reduced by one lap after the start was delayed due to a problem for home favourite Pierfrancesco Chili (Honda). The opening 18-lap high speed superbike battle saw Troy Corser (Suzuki) take his sixth win of the year, with Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) second and James Toseland (Ducati) third. Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) earned a top ten finish in his inaugural Monza meeting, following up with 12th, after set-up changes between races did not work out as planned. His team-mate Sebastien Gimbert had a tough superbike baptism at Monza, 17th in race one, while a damaged radiator in race two put him out of the follow-up. Chris Vermeulen (Honda) won race two, from long time leader Regis Laconi (Ducati), with Corser third. Corser nonetheless improved his championship lead, with the top Yamaha that of Pitt, in fifth place with 60 points. Abe narrowly leads Haga, 54 points to 52 in the battle for eighth, with Gimbert 14th, on 26. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “We are chipping away at it every weekend and improving every time out. I just couldn’t get right with Toseland in race two, because I didn’t have the drive out of the corner that he had. I could make it up in the entries but he would get it back on the exits. The main thing is that we’re getting the front tyres to last now and that has given me confidence in the front for the whole race.” Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “I changed to a medium tyre on the rear and I think it worked well but we still don’t have a perfect balance on the bike. So it was not enough to let me challenge. The engine was better in the first race but in race two I changed the bike and it was not quite so quick as the first one.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator – Yamaha Motor Italia) “Like Andrew says, every time we are making improvements and when I saw how difficult it was for the Ducatis to pass Andrew on the straights I could see that we are working in the right direction. If we continue like this then I think the podium is a possibility.” Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) “It was the first time for me at Monza but every day I improved. In the first race things were not so bad but I did not have a good feeling from the front end. If this was fixed I think I could have gone five tenths faster each lap. So we modified the settings for race two – but it was even worse than race one.” Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) “A grim weekend for me I’m afraid, and the stone holing the radiator summed it up. In race one I cut the Ascari chicane with Bussei and that made it a problem for me. I’m disappointed with the weekend.” Martial Garcia (Team Manager – Yamaha Motor France) “For the first time we were happy about qualifying at the right time because at the end the riders both made superpole. But for the race we expected more. It was a real shame for Sebastien because a stone went through his radiator and all the water leaked out. After the first lap the temperature went almost to maximum. We have to forget about this one and move on to Silverstone.” Race classification WSB Round: 4 – Italy – Monza Circuit: Monza Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1′ 47.434 (Troy Bayliss, 2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1′ 47.434 (Troy Bayliss, 2002) Race 1: 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 32′ 40.906 2 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN +0.985 3 J. Toseland Ducati GBR +1.040 4 R. Laconi Ducati FRA +1.757 5 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS +8.609 6 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS +12.435 7 P. Chili Honda ITA +12.628 8 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR +16.656 9 G. Nannelli Ducati ITA +20.481 10 N. Abe Yamaha JPN +21.119 11 N. Haga Yamaha JPN +23.169 12 M. Borciani Ducati ITA +39.874 13 G. Bussei Kawasaki ITA +40.080 14 M. Sanchini Kawasaki ITA +41.484 15 I. Clementi Kawasaki ITA +41.955 17 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA +45.063 19 J. Cardoso Yamaha ESP +47.225 19 M. Praia Yamaha POR +1′ 16.849 21 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA +1′ 5.562 Race 2: 17 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 C. Vermeulen Honda AUS 30′ 49,758.000 2 R. Laconi Ducati FRA +0.582 3 T. Corser Suzuki AUS +2.458 4 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS +3.379 5 J. Toseland Ducati GBR +9.901 6 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS +10.076 7 P. Chili Honda ITA +11.116 8 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR +11.587 9 N. Haga Yamaha JPN +26.936 10 G. Nannelli Ducati ITA +33.459 11 G. Bussei Kawasaki ITA +35.184 12 N. Abe Yamaha JPN +35.612 13 M. Sanchini Kawasaki ITA +36.817 14 L. Conforti Ducati ITA +45.473 15 I. Clementi Kawasaki ITA +47.350 16 L. Alfonsi Yamaha ITA +47.685 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1′ 48.082 Championship standings WSB Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 182 2 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 130 3 Chris Vermeulen Honda AUS 115 4 Regis Laconi Ducati FRA 87 5 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 60 6 James Toseland Ducati GBR 57 7 Norifumi Abe Yamaha JPN 54 8 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 54 9 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 52 10 Pierfrancesco Chili Honda ITA 44 11 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 41 12 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 38 13 Giovanni Bussei Kawasaki ITA 31 14 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 26 15 Ben Bostrom Honda USA 19 19 David Checa Yamaha ESP 13 22 Ivan Silva Yamaha ESP 10 27 Lorenzo Alfonsi Yamaha ITA 3 29 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 2 30 Miguel Praia Yamaha POR 2 Manufacturers standings WSB Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Suzuki 191 2 Honda 128 3 Ducati 100 4 Yamaha 86 5 Kawasaki 66 6 Petronas 1 WSS : Curtain satisfied in Monza Round: 4 – Italy – Monza Circuit: Monza Date: 8 May 2005 Crowd: 93000 Temp: 40ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha Motor Germany riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes scored valuable points after a tough round four of the Supersport World Championship at Monza today. The Australians failed to find the optimum settings for their YZF-R6s but fought hard to the line to secure valuable championship points, in fifth and eighth places respectively. Curtain stays third in the championship with Parkes tying with Fabien Foret (Honda) for fifth. Curtain had been running with the leading pack of Sèbastien Charpentier (Honda), Katsuaki Fujiwara (Honda) and Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati) in the opening stages, but slowly slipped back and into the clutches of Michel Fabrizio (Honda) as the tyres wore. Fabrizio moved into fourth place on lap 10 of 16 and although Curtain was able to stay in the Italian’s slipstream he was unable to make a pass, finishing the race just a tenth of a second behind his rival. Fujiwara’s victory takes him to within seven points of Charpentier at the top of the championship, with Curtain a further 23 behind in third. Round five takes place at the Silverstone circuit in the United Kingdom in three weeks time. Kevin Curtain “I did the best I could today and I’m happy to get the points for fifth place at a track that hasn’t really suited us. Our bike is a match for anyone in terms of top end power but I felt that some of the other guys just had the edge on us jumping out of the corners. It was ok when the tyres were new, but when the rear started to wear they were just able to edge away out of the corners. There were a few places where I could make up time on the brakes but as I said, this is the best we could do today and we can take a lot of positives away with us. The front tyre was good right to the end and we’ve made progress with the suspension. We’ve got 11 points from here so I’m satisfied with that.” Broc Parkes “It’s the same story really: finishing a few places behind Kevin. I think the Hondas had an advantage on us out of the corners, maybe due to the gearing, and it made it hard work. I’ve struggled all weekend and to make it worse I got a terrible start which gave me too much work to do in the race. On the upside, we’ve got a new suspension technician come in directly from WP and he has been able to bring in some new ideas. Already we saw the benefit this weekend and I’m sure that with more time he will be able to bring us even more improvements.” Terrell Thien (Team Manager) “Our mechanics all worked so hard this weekend and were often up to one or two o’clock in the morning changing the gearbox settings and the like, so it was a shame that we could not deliver a podium. I was pleased that in the end the gap between us and the winner was less than eight seconds and there are many good things that we can take from this weekend. Silverstone is next and this is a circuit that Kevin likes and where Broc was on the podium last year, so we have every reason to look forward to this race.” Race classification WSS Round: 4 – Italy – Monza Circuit: Monza Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1′ 52.635 (Chris Vermeulen, 2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1′ 51.480 (Karl Muggeridge, 2004) Race 1: 16 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 K. Fujiwara Honda JPN 30′ 15,930.000 2 S. Charpentier Honda FRA +0.036 3 G. Nannelli Ducati ITA +2.726 4 M. Fabrizio Honda ITA +8.043 5 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS +8.163 6 A. Corradi Ducati ITA +18.488 7 T. Lauslehto Honda FIN +26.566 8 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS +26.632 9 S. Chambon Honda FRA +26.940 10 I. Goi Yamaha ITA +37.497 11 S. Le Grelle Honda BEL +37.686 12 X. Fores Suzuki ESP +37.943 13 B. Veneman Suzuki NED +44.198 14 J. Stigefelt Honda SWE +47.954 15 T. Miksovsky Honda CZE +57.562 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Charpentier Honda FRA 1′ 52.726 Championship standings WSS Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 90 2 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 83 3 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 60 4 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 42 5 Fabien Foret Honda FRA 38 6 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 38 7 Stephane Chambon Honda FRA 32 8 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 31 9 Tatu Lauslehto Honda FIN 24 10 Xavi Fores Suzuki ESP 23 11 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 19 12 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 13 13 Jurgen van den Goorbergh Ducati NED 11 14 Sebastien Le Grelle Honda BEL 9 15 Tomas Miksovsky Honda CZE 9 Manufacturers standings WSS Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 100 2 Yamaha 60 3 Ducati 42 4 Suzuki 27 5 Kawasaki 6 European Superstock : R1 racers serve up Monza thriller Round: 2 – Italy – Monza Circuit: Monza Date: 8 May 2005 Crowd: 93000 Temp: 31ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha’s R6 Cup graduates served up a thrilling appetiser for the Monza tifosi today, with Yamaha Motor Germany’s Kenan Sofuoglu and Team Lorenzini by Leoni’s Massimo Roccoli taking the top two places in a superb head-to-head battle for round two of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup. R1 riders Sofuoglu, the 2002 German R6 Cup champion, and Roccoli, winner of the 2003 Italian series, spent the entire 11-lap race separated by only fractions of a second as they passed and repassed each other around the high speed Formula One circuit. Sofuoglu grabbed the holeshot to take the early lead, while pole sitter Roccoli broke the lap record on lap two to briefly pass him. From then on the two Yamaha riders rode in each other’s slipstream, although their battle did allow former Australian superbike champion Craig Coxhell to catch up and indeed briefly lead going into the chicane on the final lap. Sofuoglu looked like he would have to settle for third when he outbraked himself going into the Variante della Roggia chicane for the final time, but the Turkish rider kept his composure and was able to take Coxhell for second with a spectacular move into Ascari, before passing Roccoli on the approach to Parabolica to take his second win of the season. Yamaha Motor Germany’s Didier van Keymeulen held third place for most of the race but was forced back to fifth at the flag. The Belgian rider did not find a machine set-up to his liking at Monza, but is still very much in contention for the title. He lies third in the championship on 31 points, Roccoli is just ahead of him on 36 with Sofuoglu’s win giving him a perfect 50 points after two rounds. Yamaha Motor Italia supported youngster Claudio Corti took victory in Saturday’s European Superstock 600 championship. With a second placed finish at the opening round in Valencia, the 17-year-old YZF-R6 rider from Como now ties for the championship lead with French Honda rider Yoann Tiberio. Kenan Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motor Germany) “That was a great race. I had a bit of a problem with chatter throughout the race but I just got my head down and rode as hard as I could. I made a mistake on the last lap and that meant I had to change my race tactics. I’m really happy and very focussed this year. I know that I must show people what I can do this season, so my aim is not only to win the championship but also to win as many races as possible.” Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni) “I took the tight line into the final corner but unfortunately I hit a dip in the tarmac and I lost traction – which allowed Kenan to carry more speed onto the straight. It was a tough race, like a war, and Kenan is a very strong rider who has a little more experience than me, so I can have no complaints.” Didier van Keymeulen (Yamaha Motor Germany) “I had a lot of fans here from Belgium this weekend so I am disappointed only to finish fifth. Last year I finished on the podium here but all this weekend I have struggled to get a good feeling with the bike. I got an ok start but Chiarello held me up for a bit and that gave Kenan and Roccoli the chance to get away. The next round is at Silverstone and that is one of my favourite tracks, so hopefully I can find an improvement there.” Race classification FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Round: 2 – Italy – Monza Circuit: Monza Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1′ 51.525 (Gianluca Vizziello, 2004) Fastest Lap Ever: 1′ 51.306 (Gianluca Vizziello, 2004) Race 1: 11 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 K. Sofuoglu Yamaha TUR 20′ 37.642 2 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA +0.156 3 C. Coxhell Suzuki AUS +0.214 4 R. Chiarello Suzuki ITA +3.054 5 D. Van Keymeulen Yamaha BEL +3.294 6 A. Martinez Yamaha ESP +9.904 7 A. Polita Suzuki ITA +12.831 8 D. Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA +12.872 9 R. Cooper Honda GBR +14.264 10 S. Vermonden Suzuki BEL +15.466 11 V. Iannuzzo MV Agusta ITA +15.470 12 F. De Marco MV Agusta ITA +17.955 13 I. Dionsi Suzuki ITA +22.757 14 M. Jerman Suzuki SVN +29.107 15 G. Romanelli Yamaha ITA +29.530 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1′ 51.619 Championship standings FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Kenan Sofuoglu Yamaha TUR 50 2 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 36 3 Didier Van Keymeulen Yamaha BEL 31 4 Craig Coxhell Suzuki AUS 27 5 Fabrizio De Marco MV Agusta ITA 14 6 Richard Cooper Honda GBR 13 7 Riccardo Chiarello Suzuki ITA 13 8 William De Angelis Yamaha ITA 13 9 Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 12 10 Ilario Dionsi Suzuki ITA 12 11 Alex Martinez Yamaha ESP 10 12 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 9 13 Herve Gantner Yamaha CHE 8 14 Sepp Vermonden Suzuki BEL 8 15 Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 7 19 Julian Mazuecos Yamaha ESP 3 21 Petter Solli Yamaha NOR 1 More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: GIANLUCA NANNELLI FIRES MONZA, NO LUCK FOR FONSI NIETO The attendance of Monza, 93000 people, for sure doesn’t regret the ticket’s money! Thrilling races, all fighted fron the start to finish, with very small gap under the chequered flag. among the heroes of Monza fans there’s from today on Gianluca Nannelli too, who after three years grabbed a world Supersport podium for Ducati after three years, from Australia 2002. In the speed temple Nannelli run an high level race, fighting hardly against the Honda Ten Kate pair, Fujiwara and Charpentier, as to deserve also the public congratulation from Ronald Ten Kate for a fantastic race run just after race-1 Superbike, with no time to change the leather, jumping from 999RS, more powerful and lighter, with slick tyres, onto the 749R with street tyres. Only at the beginning of 14th lap a mistake by Charpentier at first chicane braking caused his mistake too, allowing his rivals to escape; at that point the tyres couldn’t no more allow Gianluca to recover in only two laps and the Florentine rider ended in third position, first world podium of his career, recording also the 3rd fastest lap of the day, just three tenth fron track record and a big jump in the championship standing. The unbelievable week end at Monza ended with two positive Superbike races, where Gianluca Nannelli must had to replace the injured Lorenzo Lanzi. During race-1 Gianluca has been always close to the leaders, fighting during all the race against Haga and Abe and ending in 9th position. During race-2 the 999RS engine stopped just at warm up start, forcing Gianluca and the team to run for fire it again, but Nannelli has been forced to start from the pit lane after that all the group leaved. Seventeenth unbelievable laps, with an impressive sequence of overtaking, one or two position lap by lap that gave to Gianluca the tenth position at the end, three time in the points in the same day. The strong phsyco.physical stress accumulated in the Monza three days finally dissolwed in the fans and crew embrace. “An unforgettable day, a fantastic public, an excellent team. Somebody told me to renounce the three starts, but I felt well and I was sure to make a good work.” has been the comment of his triumphant day Gianluca Nannelli. “In Supersport I earned my first world podium! I had a good start, third in the first chicane, and I’ve been able to fight for the victory. Then I made a small mistake at a few laps to go in the first chicane and I lost the contact, also because Charpentier saw me and pushed hardly, recording the fastest lap just at that moment. However the 749R is an excellent bike and Team SC is fantastic too. Unfortunately when I lost the contact the left side of the tyres was suffering quickly and started sliding, so I couldn’t fight for the victory still the end. For Superbike during race-1 I rode quietly because it was the first race of the day, anyway the duel with Abe and Haga it was fun. During race-2 my engine stopped at the start of warm up lap, the guys were not able to see me from the garage because the pit wall in Monza is quite high, so I must run to the pit and I have been forced to start as last from the pit lane. I spent my last energies to recover, it has been exiting but heavy, and to finish as tenth it has been a great result. I believe that today I’ve lost not less as ten kilos: that will make happy Farnè who is always joking with me and says that I must lose weigh because I’m too much heavy for the 749R! I want to tank all that allowed me such a splendid day, as Ducati and GA, Lorenzo’s main sponsor, and all that believed in me, as my family and everybody helped me, then FMI and the team. This day is dedicated to everyone of them and to the unlucky Lanzi that at Silverstone will return on the 999RS.” The misfortune has not forsaken Fonsi Nieto. During race-1 the Spanish rider got a very fast start, running in tenth to fifteenth position for five laps, then at the sixth lap somebody touched him causing the lost of several positions and the recover has been difficult, ending at 16th position, just out of points area. Good start also in race-2, the three laps in the points group, but Nieto’s engine broken (it was a new engine) and stop in a smoke cloud. “Today too we have been pelt by misfortune.” said a disappointed Fonsi back at the garage. – “That actually a week end to forget. Two good starts, in race-1 I was side by side to Nannelli at the first chicane, didn’t have any good result and I leave Monza very disappointed. The only positive thing is that I got a good feeling with the bike and the track, my right position could be in the points, but against the misfortune that’s nothing to do.”

FRONT ROW FOR MUGGERIDGE IN MONZA Karl Muggeridge will start tomorrow’s fourth round World Superbike championship race at Monza from the front row after heading the qualifying time sheets earlier today. His Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate Chris Vermeulen heads row two, directly behind pole sitter Yukio Kagayama. As the fastest rider heading into this afternoon’s Superpole event, Muggeridge lost six tenths of a second going into the first chicane on his one flying lap but recovered enough to post the fourth fastest time. Vermeulen, meanwhile, was second fastest after this morning’s second qualifying session but could only manage the fifth fastest Superpole lap. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “That’s Superpole, I’m afraid sometimes you go up and other times you go down. After achieving a one-two in qualifying this morning, I have to admit that I was hoping for a little more. However, the races are tomorrow and that’s what counts. Both riders have made race simulations today and covered a full race distance on the tyres. We’ll make some minor adjustments for tomorrow’s warm-up but I don’t think we’ll have any problem with top speed tomorrow and we’ll be able to run at the front. This season we haven’t been as ready to race as we are for tomorrow so we’re all looking forward to it.” Karl Muggeridge fourth fastest, 1m48.054s: “Oh, man that’s frustrating. It just all went wrong at the braking point at the end of the start finish straight and the first chicane was just horrible. I think I was about ninth after the first split six tenths down which shows how badly it was messed up. The rest of the lap went great and I managed to climb back to the front row. It’s a shame because I’ve been comfy all weekend, since the first session on Friday morning. We’ve been moving the package forward in each session since then and that allowed me to be fastest going into Superpole. That’s the nature of the event though. I’m real happy on my race tyre and confident of battling well at the front but, for sure, pole would have been great.” Chris Vermeulen fifth fastest, 1m48.128s: “It’s a Superpole thing. Second fastest after qualifying and then you sit around for 40 minutes waiting for your turn. It was the same for me here last year I was just so conscious of trying not to mess up the lap that I braked a little too early for the first chicane and that was it. Having said that, the bike is so much better here and it’s been getting better all weekend. I’m happy with the race set-up we have and the tyres we’re going to run with. I think we’ll be up at the front tomorrow but it’s going to be really tough.” World Superbike, Monza Superpole qualifying times: 1 Yukio Kagayama JPN (Suzuki) 1m47.439s, 2 Troy Corser AUS (Suzuki) 1:47.446, 3 Regis Laconi FRA (Ducati) 1:47.885, 4 Karl Muggeridge AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:48.054, 5 Chris Vermeulen AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:48.128, 6 Andrew Pitt AUS (Yamaha) 1:48.580, 7 Chris Walker GBR (Kawasaki) 1:48.613, 8 James Toseland GBR (Ducati) 1:48.695, 9 Pierfrancesco Chili ITA (Honda) 1:48.908, 10 Giovanni Bussei ITA (Kawasaki) 1:49.245. More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing: Uphill battle for FPR in Monza Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders Garry McCoy and Steve Martin face an uphill battle in tomorrow’s fourth round races in the Superbike World Championship after a day to forget at Monza. Both riders, hindered by a succession of technical problems, failed to qualify for Superpole and will start from the sixth row of the grid in 23rd and 24th positions. Yukio Kagayama claimed his second pole position of the season. Garry was unable to complete a single timed lap in the morning qualifying session because of mechanical troubles which impacted on his afternoon track time. Steve worked hard to combat morning handling problems and was able to post his fastest times on race tyres. Garry said: “I have not suffered many days like today before! My fastest time yesterday was the second lap on the same qualifier, which is not how it is meant to be. So I was hoping to improve my position today and definitely expecting to be in Superpole. I have only been here once and found that you race with the guys who are with you on the grid. But, given a couple of half-reasonable starts and trouble-free races, I should be able to catch with a few but it is going to be an uphill battle. At least I managed to slip in a couple of different tyres this afternoon and get an initial feel for them, although I wasn’t able to do a lot of laps.” Steve said: “The afternoon session was my best of the weekend and I was reasonably happy to be doing consistent low 51s and high 50s. I only used one new tyre all session so I managed to do some chassis set-up work and start to feel consistent. The main problem in the morning was maintaining stability in a straight line. So we went a different way with the front end to stop it bottoming out and that more or less cured it. We also ran a different shock in the rear, which I can now work with. I was devastated not to be in Superpole and we should have been there. We need to get into the points tomorrow. It is going to be tough but I am hoping a good race set-up will get us far enough through the field.” Superpole results, Superbike World Championship round 4, Monza, Italy: 1 Kagayama 1:47.439; 2 Corser +0.007; 3 Laconi +0.446; 4 Muggeridge +0.615; 5 Vermeulen +0.689; 6 Pitt +1.141; 7 Walker +1.174; 8 Toseland +1.256; 9 Chili +1.469; 10 Bussei +1.806; 11 Haga +1.840; 12 Nannelli +1.933; 13 Cardoso +1.962; 14 Abe +2.472; 15 Sanchini 2.599; 16 Gimbert +2.914 Saturday qualifying times (best time bracketed): 1 Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:47.143; 2 Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:47.526; 3 Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona) 1:47.726; 4 Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona) 1:47.788; 5 Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 1:47.918; 6 Pitt (Yamaha Italia) 1;48.065; 7 Toseland (Ducati Xerox) 1:48.696; 8 Nannelli (Ducati SC Caracchi) 1:49.955 (1:48.809); 9 Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 1:48.967; 10 Chili (Klaffi Honda) 1:49.044; 23 McCoy (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) (1:50.635); 24 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:50.666 Free practice times: 1 Kagayama 1:47.565; 2 Corser 1:47.596; 3 Muggeridge 1:47.878; 4 Laconi 1:48.060; 5 Pitt 1:48.443; 6 Toseland 1:48.573; 7 Vermeulen 1:48.824; 8 Walker 1:48.899; 9 Nannelli 1:49.114; 10 Chili 1:49.211; 22 Martin 1:50.836; 23 McCoy 1:51.008 More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: LACONI TAKES FRONT ROW START FOR DUCATI XEROX TEAM AT MONZA WITH TOSELAND ONE ROW BEHIND Monza (Italy), Saturday 7 May: Ducati Xerox Team riders Régis Laconi and James Toseland both produced positive performances today in the second and final day of qualifying for round 4 of the World Superbike Championship at Monza. Frenchman Laconi showed no ill-effects from his Valencia crash by slotting in third quickest time of 1m47.885s in Superpole, while his British team-mate James Toseland received a confidence boost with a row 2 start after clocking eighth quickest time in 1m48.695s. Laconi was particularly satisfied with his Superpole performance after struggling to set good times on qualifying tyres during the day. “We did a good job this weekend, especially to try to be fast over one lap, because in today’s two sessions we had big problems to do one lap on the qualifying tyre and in fact I set my best time on race tyres this morning” declared Régis. “We found some new settings for Superpole and the bike was then a lot better to ride. OK, the two Suzuki guys were too fast but I did a good lap time. We will see for tomorrow but I’m also happy about my lap times on race tyres and I am feeling good. Now it’s time for Ducati to come back and win, for sure it won’t be easy but we are in Monza, with all the Ducati fans behind me so I will certainly try my best tomorrow”. Toseland has been back in the groove all weekend with a positive showing in all practice and qualifying sessions, and although his Superpole lap only netted him eighth place, he is feeling confident for the race. “My Superpole lap was a bit disappointing really because I had a big slide coming out of the Parabolica on my exit lap and started my one lap way too slow so that was it for me. I’m feeling confident about the race however because we had a good long-run in the afternoon’s free practice session on race tyres. A front-row start is not paramount here with all the slipstreaming so row 2 is OK and we’ve certainly got a chance of a good result. I really love riding around this circuit, it’s the home of Ducati so we know we’ve got to do well tomorrow.” TIMES: 1. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m47.439s; 2. Corser (Suzuki) 1m47.446s; 3. Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 1m47.885s; 4. Muggeridge (Honda) 1m48.054s; 5. Vermeulen (Honda) 1m48.128s; 6. Pitt (Yamaha) 1m48.580s; 7. Walker (Kawasaki) 1m48.613s; 8. Toseland (Ducati Xerox) 1m48.695s; 9. Chili (Honda) 1m48.908s; 10. Bussei (Kawasaki) 1m49.245s. More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: KAGAYAMA THE CONQUEROR IN SUPERPOLE Suzuki Riders Ace Honda Men in Superpole: After regular qualifying two Honda riders led two Suzuki riders but in the single lap Superpole competition, which determines the final grid positions, Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) took the win, from his team-mate Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki). It was Kagayama’s second Superpole success of the year, with Corser and Regis Laconi winning the others. Ducati Takes Home Advantage: After some torrid times in the last few races, the factory Ducati Xerox riders, Regis Laconi and James Toseland, had much more settled pre-raceday experiences. Laconi was one of many riders to put himself in temporary pole position when given the opportunity, but he dropped to an eventual third place, still an impressive performance from a rider who originally qualified fifth. Toseland, once more fast in normal race conditions, was once again unable to replicate his form quite so well in Superpole, finishing his day eighth. Honda Duo Drop From Lead: Winston Ten Kate Honda riders Karl Muggeridge and Chris Vermeulen secured first and second best times in regulation, but only Muggeridge was to earn a front row start, after ending Superpole fourth fastest. He had to make a recovery from an early misjudgement at turn one, running wide on entry and exit, before clawing back time on the final sectors and finishing fourth. Vermeulen’s conservative Superpole lap, at the fastest circuit on the calender, saw him fifth, heading up row two. Yamaha Men Give Their All: Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Germany) replicated his regulation qualifying performance by finishing sixth after Superpole the top Yamaha rider in the field. His team-mate, Noriyuki Haga, suffered a crash in the last minutes of final untimed qualifying, shortly before heading out to his Superpole lap, but a circuit of aggression and willpower still put him 11th. Heavy Yamaha representation in Superpole saw Jose Luis Cardoso (DFX Extreme Yamaha) finish 13th, Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor Germany) 14th and Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) who had fallen with Haga 16th and last in Superpole. Walker and Kawasaki Row Two: Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki) was once more in the hunt for ultimate pre-race honours, blasting around the 5.793km circuit with abandon to record the seventh best time, ahead of reigning champion Toseland. The Bertocchi Kawasaki team members, at their home race, delighted in their lead rider Giovanni Bussei taking a top ten finish, for a row three start. Walker’s team-mate Mauro Sanchini, secured 15th grid spot. Chili Betters Himself, Nannelli Slips: Local riders were in abundance at a sun-kissed Monza, as Pierfrancesco Chili (Klaffi Honda) went one better than his 10th place qualification in regulation, while Gianluca Nannelli (SC Caracchi Ducati) slipped from an impressive eighth in regulation to 12th, starting from the last place on the third row. Nannelli was a busy man, racing in Supersport (in his regular championship class) and adopting Superbike duties after Superbike rider Lorenzo Lanzi was sidelined with a collarbone injury after Valencia. Big Names Miss Out: With the intense level of competition in SBK this year, from six manufacturers, several Superbike stars missed out on Superpole. Ben Bostrom came close, finishing 19th on his Renegade Honda Koji machine, while Garry McCoy and Steve Martin (both Petronas FP-1) felt the need for speed, in 23rd and 24th places respectively. Fonsi Nieto (Ducati SC Caracchi) was 25th fastest, one place ahead of injured local hero Lucio Pedercini. Supersport: Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) scored his fourth pole position in four attempts, thanks to an improved second day time of 1’51.730. A Winston Ten Kate Honda 1-2 placed Katsuaki Fujiwara second, eating into the one second advantage Charpentier enjoyed on the opening day, thanks to a 1:52.126. A slight shake up in the second qualifying session allowed the top four riders to improve their times, with Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati SC Caracchi) riding to a secure front row start, in third position. Another local man, Michel Fabrizio, was the final competitor in the top four, the Roman would-be emperor nonetheless almost one second from the leading machine of Charpentier. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) was the top R6 pilot, fifth fastest, but unable to improve his times from Friday. After a good day for the home machines, Alessio Corradi took his Ducati Selmat 749R to a magnificent sixth place in his first ride for the team. Former WSS regular Simone Sanna (Improve Honda CBR600RR) was seventh, with the top GSX-R that of the Suzuki Netherlands team, ridden by Dutchman Barry Veneman. The Superbike and Supersport races take place on Sunday afternoon, May 8th. More, from a press release issued Yamaha Racing: Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga showed true grit to post second and third row starts in today’s grid deciding superpole session at Monza. Pitt will start tomorrow’s two 18-lap places from sixth on the grid, holding his position from the two combined qualifying sessions. The Australian made good progress throughout the day, slicing almost 1.4 seconds from his best time on Friday. The 29-year-old, whose parents have travelled over from Australia to watch him race this weekend, also demonstrated the pace of the rapidly improving Yamaha by taking his YZF-R1 through the speed trap at a mind boggling 310kph during the afternoon practice session – the fastest of the weekend. Superpole proved to be a test of team-mate Haga’s resolve as he fought injury to post his fastest lap of the weekend and move up to 11th on the grid, an improvement of one place on his pre-superpole position. The Japanese ace had been involved in a nasty tangle with Yamaha Motor France rider Sèbastien Gimbert in the preceding free practice session. Haga sustained injuries to his left hand and upper arm and although initial tests show no broken bones, Nitro Nori was clearly in pain as he mounted his spare YZF-R1 for his flying lap. Despite riding a machine running different specification suspension to his preferred machine, Haga’s 1:49.279 lap time was his best of the weekend. Yamaha Motor France rider Norick Abe will start his first race at the historic Monza circuit from 14th on the grid after improving his Friday time by almost two seconds. The Japanese rider was once again the most active rider on the track, clocking up 50 laps of the 5.7km circuit over the two one hour qualifying sessions. Team-mate Gimbert was unhurt in the incident with Haga, although he too was forced to use his spare bike in superpole. The Frenchman was understandably below par in superpole and ended the day qualifying in 16th position. Pole position for tomorrow’s races goes to Haga’s friend and birthday boy Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki), whose 1:47.439 lap time narrowly edged out team-mate and championship leader Troy Corser. Règis Laconi (Ducati) and Karl Muggeridge (Honda) complete the front row. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “Sixth is good but I’m still a bit disappointed not to have done my best lap of the weekend in superpole. I know that I can go faster and I think that really I took it a bit to carefully, but we’re ready for the races and that’s the main thing. We should be in pretty good shape tomorrow: we’ve found a good set-up and we’ve been able to improve the stability under braking from yesterday. Our top speed has been good too and this is obviously very important around here.” Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “Superpole was difficult as I had to use my spare bike and I this had different settings to the one I used most of the weekend. It’s ok that I did not lose any places in superpole but I think that without injury and on my other bike I could have made the second row. My hand is hurting and also I do not have much feeling in the top of my arm. The doctor took some X-rays and it looks like a T-bone steak – but no broken bones! For the race I hope to get a good start. If I can get away well then I am sure we can get a good result.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia) “I have a positive feeling for the race tomorrow. Every race we make a small improvement and that has continued here. We worked hard to improve the top speed and although we expected some gains we did not expect quite such big improvements. Tomorrow it is very important to make a good start and be involved with the train for the lead. If our riders can get away at the front then I am confident that we can have a good result. Noriyuki did a good job today and we hope that the injuries cause him no problems tomorrow. I am not so worried about the hand, but maybe if the feeling is not there in his upper arm then this could cause him some problems changing direction through the high speed corners. Andrew again gives us a good feeling and tomorrow I think that he is able to make some more improvement.” Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) “Today I was able to learn more about the circuit and improve my position. So far every circuit we have raced at is also in MotoGP, so this is the first superbike race where I have also had to learn the circuit. Monza looks very simple but actually it is not so easy to learn, so I am happy with the improvement we made.” Sèbastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) “This is my first time at Monza and I have made improvements in every session – until superpole. I had to ride my spare bike after the crash with Haga. There was a misunderstanding and we touched on the entry of the corner. I am ok and I hope Noriyuki is too. For the race we are feeling ok but will just have to see.” Round: 4 – Italy Circuit: Monza Circuit Length: 5792 Date: 7 May 2005 Temp: 40ºC Session 2 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Superpole 1 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1′ 48.113 1′ 47.726 1′ 47.439 2 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 1′ 47.878 1′ 47.788 1′ 47.446 3 R. Laconi Ducati FRA 1′ 49.021 1′ 47.918 1′ 47.885 4 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS 1′ 48.203 1′ 47.143 1′ 48.054 5 C. Vermeulen Honda AUS 1′ 48.849 1′ 47.526 1′ 48.128 6 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1′ 49.000 1′ 48.065 1′ 48.580 7 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR 1′ 49.423 1′ 48.967 1′ 48.613 8 J. Toseland Ducati GBR 1′ 48.846 1′ 48.698 1′ 48.695 9 P. Chili Honda ITA 1′ 49.595 1′ 49.044 1′ 49.245 10 G. Bussei Kawasaki ITA 1′ 50.348 1′ 49.186 1′ 49.245 11 N. Haga Yamaha JPN 1′ 49.520 1′ 49.402 1′ 49.279 12 G. Nannelli Ducati ITA 1′ 48.809 1′ 48.809 1′ 49.372 13 J. Cardoso Yamaha ESP 1′ 50.598 1′ 49.452 1′ 49.401 14 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1′ 51.367 1′ 49.520 1′ 49.911 15 M. Sanchini Kawasaki ITA 1′ 51.114 1′ 49.561 1′ 50.038 16 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1′ 51.472 1′ 49.649 1′ 50.353 20 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1′ 51.158 1′ 49.943 21 L. Alfonsi Yamaha ITA 1′ 51.470 1′ 50.000 28 P. Blora Yamaha ITA 1′ 52.825 1′ 51.365 29 M. Praia Yamaha POR 1′ 52.535 1′ 52.333 WSS:No improvements for Curtain and Parkes 7/5/2005 Yamaha Motor Germany’s world supersport riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes will start tomorrow’s Monza race from fifth and 10th place respectively after failing to improve on their Friday times during today’s 45-minute final session. Conditions remained sunny and warm throughout the day, allowing the Australian riders to spend the majority of the session working on machine set-up. Both pitted for fresh tyres in the closing minutes but were unable to take advantage of their fresh rubber due to heavy traffic, meaning that their fastest times from Friday (1:53.092 for Curtain and 1:54.218 for Parkes) determined their final grid position. Despite being marginally slower than yesterday, both riders were able to set consistent lap times and know that they can further improve their set-up for tomorrow’s race. Curtain, third in the overnight standings, was indeed on the front row until final few minutes of the frantic session. Friday’s fastest rider, Frenchman Sèbastien Charpentier (Honda), retained his pole position after improving to a 1:51.730 on the final lap. His team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara lines up alongside him, with Italians Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati) and Michel Fabrizio (Honda) completing the front row. Kevin Curtain “I’m riding as hard as I can and I’m able to do consistent 53s, but I just couldn’t break into the 52s. We’ve got too much weight transferring to the front under heavy braking and that’s causing the back end too move about under braking. At least we know what the problem is and that’s why I’m confident that we can find a solution for the race. It’s a little disappointing to miss out on the front row. The guys who moved ahead of me were all riding in a group, while I was unfortunate to get held up a bit at the end.” Broc Parkes “Last night I felt that we could get onto the front row so it’s a little disappointing to be starting from 10th. Tomorrow we will try some things in the warm-up. Like Kevin, I am sure that we can improve the set-up and make up some places in the race.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama gave himself the best possible birthday present by taking Superpole today at Monza with a faultless lap of 1:47.143 which beat his team mate Troy Corser by just 7000ths of a second. Corser was lucky not to crash in Superpole after hitting a bird on his out lap which became struck in between his brake lever and the brake cable,. The Australian had to flick it out and make sure it had not caused any damage before getting up to speed for his flying lap. Third quickest today was Regis Laconi (Ducati) with Karl Muggeridge (Honda) fourth. Yukio Kagayama – 1st, 1:47.439: “I am very happy to get Superpole today and because it is my birthday, it is a nice present. It was a good lap and a perfect lap because I did not make any mistakes. I have been very happy with the qualifying tyres here but I am not so sure about my race tyres. One tyre I like only lasted five or six laps before it went off, so I will have to try another type in the morning warm-up tomorrow and then decide what to do. “Tomorrow, strategy is going to be very important. I must not go out very hard from the start and make the tyre wear out. I must use my head throughout the race and especially think what to do at the end. People tell me that I had some slides on my Superpole lap, but I did not feel them. It’s better that way!” Troy Corser – 2nd, 1:47.446: “Two things cost me some time in Superpole. On my warm-up lap, a bird hit my bike and then hit me and there was blood all over my right arm and shoulder. I guess I was lucky because it could have been much worse – especially if it had happened on my flying lap. Also, I made a small mistake when I ran a little wide exiting on of the chicanes and that lost me some time. But all credit to Yukio because he managed to beat me today – even though it was only by seven thousandths of a second! “This afternoon he followed me for a while and that helped him learn the track a bit better and of course do a good Superpole lap. I am very happy with my bike set-up and, apart from adjusting the mapping a little in the morning warm-up tomorrow, I think we are all set. I don’t think anybody is going to get away in the races and expect four or five of us will be pretty close to each other at the end and that should be great for all the fans.” Final Superbike Qualifying: 1 Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1.47.439, 2 Corser (AUS-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1.47.446, 3 Laconi (F-Ducati) 1.47.885, 4 Muggeridge (AUS-Honda) 1.48.054, 5 Vermeulen (AUS-Honda) 1.48.128, 6 Pitt (AUS-Yamaha) 1.48.580, 7 Walker (GB-Kawasaki) 1.48.613, 8 Toseland (GB-Ducati) 1.48.695, 9 Chili (I-Honda) 1.48.908, 10 Bussei (I-Kawasaki) 1.49.245. WORLD SUPERSPORT: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Javier Fores failed to improve on his position from yesterday and will start the Supersport World Championship race at Monza tomorrow from the third row of the grid. Suspension problems were the main reason for his inability to move up the grid and so he will face a hard task to get into the leading group at the start of tomorrow’s 16-lapper. Hondas continued their Supersport domination today with Sebastien Charpentier taking pole position ahead of his team mate Katsuaki Fujiwara. Third quickest was Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati) with Michel Fabrizio (Honda) fourth. Javier Fores – 11th, 1:54.313: “I was not so happy yesterday and I am not so happy today either. I had many suspension problems today and also a small engine problem and that was enough to prevent me from advancing up the grid. Tomorrow I will try some different settings and see if we can find some improvements. “It is going to be hard starting from the third row but I am going to try and get a really good start and hopefully finish in the top six. That, and being the best Suzuki, is my aim.” Final Supersport Qualifying: 1 Charpentier (F-Honda) 1:51.730, 2 Fujiwara (J-Honda) 1:52.126, 3 Nannelli (I-Ducati) 1:52.364, 4 Fabrizio (I-Honda) 1:52.700, 5 Curtain (Aus-Yamaha) 1:53.092, 6 Corradi (I-Ducati) 1:53.539, 7 Sanna (I-Honda) 1:53.542, 8 Veneman (NL-Suzuki) 1:53.843, 9 Chambon (F-Honda) 1:54.007, 10 Parkes (Aus-Yamaha) 1:54.218, 11 Fores (E-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:54.313. SUPERSTOCK: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavier Simeon used his head and rode a steady race at Monza today to finish fifth overall. Set-up problems meant that Xavier couldn’t push as hard as he would have liked and in the end he decided that fifth position was better than trying harder and crashing. Yoann Tiberio (Honda) led for most of the race but was beaten to the flag by Claudio Corti (Yamaha) in the closing stages. Third was Maxime Berger (Honda), some five seconds behind. Despite getting past Niccolo Canepa (Kawasaki) a couple of times, Simeon was unable to make it stick and, in the end, had to be content with fifth place. Xavier Simeon – 5th: “That was a difficult race today because my Suzuki did not seem to want to change direction easily. It was hard work in the chicanes. If I pushed much harder I would have crashed so I thought it would be better to finish fifth and keep my third place in the championship.” Superstock Results: 1 Corti (I-Yamaha), 2 Tiberio (F-Honda), 3 Berger (F-Honda), 4 Canepa (I-Kawasaki), 5 Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 6 Perez Munoz (E-Honda). Superstock Points: 1 Corti 45, 2 Tiberio 45, 3 Simeon 27, 4 Berger 26, 5 Canepa 26, 6 Perez Munoz 21.

World Superbike Superpole Results From Monza: 1. Yukio Kagayama, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:47.439 2. Troy Corser, Suz GSX-R1000, 1:47.446 3. Regis Laconi, Duc 999F05, 1:47.885 4. Karl Muggeride, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:48.054 5. Chris Vermeulen, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:48.128 6. Andrew Pitt, Yam YZF-R1, 1:48.580 7. Chris Walker, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:48.613 8. James Toseland, Duc 999F05, 1:48.695 9. Pierfrancesco Chili, Hon CBR1000RR, 1:48.908 10. Giovanni Bussei, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:49.245 11. Noriyuki Haga, Yam YZF-R1, 1:49.279 12. Gianluca Nannelli, Duc 999RS, 1:49.372 13. Jose Luis Cardoso, Yam YZF-R1, 1:49.401 14. Norick Abe, Yam YZF-R1, 1:49.911 15. Mauro Sanchini, Kaw ZX-10R, 1:50.038 16. Sebastien Gimbert, Yam YZF-R1, 1:50.353