Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

The day was hot, the pace was hot and the race was hot. But Fabien Foret kept his cool to take his third win of the season. The race was a typical World Supersport race, with plenty of fairing-bashing action.

After a flurry of activity to decide who took the holeshot, Stephane Chambon emerged at the head of the pack on his Alstare Suzuki. He then started to make what was for Supersport an almost impossible breakaway up front. But his glory was all-too brief, on lap three he threw it away at Curva Del Rio. Iain MacPherson also landed in the dirt on the same lap when he lost the front end of his Ten Kate Honda.

That left Andrew Pitt, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Paolo Casoli, James Whitham and Foret in front. Pitt pushed his way through the gaggle of riders to take the lead just after Chambon binned it, but his lead was also short lived. Foret was on him immediately and got by on the brakes going into Curve Del Tramonto. On lap six Jorg Teuchert joined the growing list of riders in the kitty litter.

Andrew Pitt fought his way back into the lead on lap seven and by now it was only too apparent that several riders were already having tire problems. On lap eight Casoli made a move and followed Foret through as the Frenchman passed Pitt. Then Casoli tried to barge past Foret – almost banging fairings on the way through but Foret resisted the pressure. Pitt got past Casoli again, only to find Casoli almost buried in his fairing at the next turn. Then the battle got too hairy for Pitt who took to the grass after touching fairings with Whitham going into Variante Arena.

With Pitt demoted back down the field and Chambon a long way back after remounting, the fight was between Foret in the lead, Fujiwara in second and the two Belgarda Yamahas. Casoli had another moment of glory when he took the lead on lap 15, but again it was short lived, Foret soon reclaimed first place and made an attempt at a breakaway. But in the intense heat and with all the bikes so closely matched on performance it was unlikely that any rider was going to be able to get any distance out in front.

On lap 17 Foret made a small mistake that allowed Fujiwara back into the lead. Foret then followed him for the next four laps before taking to the front again. Behind them Whitham had dispensed with teammate Casoli and was now fighting for second, or even first, with the lead duo. Christian Kellner had latched himself on the front runners several laps earlier and got in front of Casoli as the Italian began to fade.

On the final two laps Fujiwara pulled the pin and almost crashed. He looked like he was pushing his tires beyond the limit as he traded places with Foret. On the last lap Foret decided it was time to go and upped the pace just slightly. Fujiwara was having real trouble holding on and almost highsided not once but twice, getting right out of the saddle on the first occasion. This gave Foret just the advantage he needed and took the win by just 0.086-second. The win also put Foret back into the Championship lead, with a three point advantage over Chambon who eventually finished 13th. Whitham held onto fourth in front of Kellner.

“Fabien was just too fast for me on the last lap,” admitted Fujiwara.

“That was just the result we needed after Lausitzring,” said Foret, referring to his disqualification after winning there. “It was a very hard race but my tires were excellent and that helped me push hard all the way to the end. I’m very happy to take the win, all my team put 100% effort into this and to be in the Championship lead also is fantastic.”

“The race was hot and hard,” said Whitham. “It looked like everyone was struggling with tires from very early on.”

The Supersport Championship misses the next round in Laguna Seca, to return at the end of July in Brands Hatch, England.

World Supersport race results:

1. Fabien Foret, Honda, 23 laps, 38:24.180
2. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki, -0.086
3. James Whitham, Yamaha, -0.794
4. Christian Kellner, Yamaha, -0.839
5. Paolo Casoli, Yamaha, -6.574
6. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, -8.107
7. Christophe Cogan, Honda, -8.588
8. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, -11.357
9. Robert Ulm, Honda, -14.901
10. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha, -16.819
11. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha, -16.960
12. Stefano Cruciani, Yamaha, -26.966
13. Stéphane Chambon, Suzuki, -28.923
14. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Ducati, -30.407
15. Camillo Mariottini, Yamaha, -30.926
16. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, -31.434
17. James Ellison, Kawasaki, -40.391
18. Christian Zaiser, Yamaha, -51.521
19. Robert Frost, Yamaha, -52.581
20. Cristian Magnani, Yamaha, -52.756
21. Norino Brignola, Suzuki, -61.843
22. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda, -75.545
23. Claudio Cipriani, Yamaha, -81.869
24. Diego Giugovaz, Yamaha, -82.124
25. Antonio Carlacci, Yamaha, -2 laps
26. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha, -15 laps
27. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, -16 laps
28. Nigel Arnold, Honda, -16 laps
29. Jörg Teuchert, Yamaha, -18 laps
30. John McGuinness, Honda, -20 laps
31. Iain MacPherson, Honda, -21 laps

Supersport World Championship points:

1. Foret 118

2. Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) 115

3. Pitt 113

4. Fujiwara 104

5. Kellner 78

6. TIE, Whitham/Casoli 71

8. Vermeulen 66

9. Jorg Teuchert, Germany (Yamaha) 60

10. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Italy (Ducati) 48



Manufacturers points:
1. Suzuki 148
2. Honda 138
3. Yamaha 124
4. Kawasaki 113
5. Ducati 51

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Iannuzzo loses out to Vizziello in last lap

By Glenn Le Santo

Vittorio Iannuzzo and Gianluca Vizziello thrilled the Misano crowd with a display of typical hard fought Superstock riding. The pair swapped places
several times in the last few laps while battling over the top step on the podium.

It was Vizziello who played the ace card on the last lap, just a few corners from the end. He ran hard into the turn on the brakes, grabbed the inside line and forced Iannuzzo to give way. It was a fair maneuver and there was nothing Iannuzzo could do, he had to change his line and that meant he had to momentarily shut the throttle. That gave Vizziello all the advantage he
needed to take his Yamaha R1 to the flag in front of Ianuzzo’s Suzuki GSX-R1000.

There were several fallers in the race, run in very hot conditions at the Italian circuit. Another Italian, Lorenzo Alfonsi was third, riding a Ducati.

European Superstock Championship
San Marino Round
Results:

1. Gianluca Vizziello, Yamaha YZF-R1, 15 laps, 25:18.940
2. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -0.467
3. Lorenzo Alfonsi, Ducati 998S, -4.675
4. Ilario Dionisi, Aprilia RSV1000, -16.602
5. Alessandro Brannetti, Honda CBR900RR, -18.047
6. Walter Tortoroglio, Honda CBR900RR, -19.320
7. Andy Notman, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -31.728
8. Benjamin Nabert, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -33.478
9. Marco Tessarolo, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -34.076
10. Sergio Ruggiero, Ducati 998S, -34.488
11. Didier Vankeymeulen, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -35.573
12. Ciro Ranieri, Yamaha YZF-R1, -35.782
13. Giacomo Romanelli, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -37.965
14. Roberto Lunadei, Aprilia RSV1000, -38.075
15. Robert De Vries, Ducati 998S, -44.022
16. John Bakker, Ducati 998S, -56.284
17. Marco Tonini, Aprilia RSV1000, -57.128
18. Christian Nau, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -63.443
19. Declan Swanton, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -64.730
20. Geoffrey Naze, Yamaha YZF-R1, -78.062

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

Troy Bayliss took the win in race two at Misano for another double and to rack up an incredible 13 wins from 16 races.

At the start it actually looked as if we would have a different result as Neil Hodgson got the holeshot followed by Colin Edwards and then Bayliss. Edwards and Hodgson traded positions a couple of times on the opening laps and with Ben Bostrom looking to join the fray we had a battle on our hands.

Bayliss waited patiently until lap seven when he went past Edwards to take the lead. Edwards however was not going to give up easily and on the next corner in a breathtaking move he threw his Honda up the inside of Bayliss to retake first position.

Bayliss paced Edwards around the circuit and on lap 15 then passed the Texan again to take the lead. The Honda rider briefly took the lead once more on lap 17 but on the next lap Bayliss resumed his habitual place in front. The Australian then pulled the pin and put his head down for a charge to the line. Edwards rode the wheels off his machine but it just wasn’t enough to beat the wonder from down under.

Nori Haga improved on his race one finish. He battled past Ruben Xaus and Ben Bostrom in the opening laps and then had a huge scrap with Neil Hodgson before he finally broke the English rider with a stunning move on lap 13.

Hodgson had ridden a mature ride and stayed with the leaders for the first 10 laps. He then started to drop back and once Haga had passed him he could do nothing to answer Haga¹s pace.

Meanwhile Xaus put it in the kitty litter for the second time that day, at the same turn, this time on lap six.

Ben Bostrom duplicated his race one result with a fifth and Gregorio Lavilla rounded out the top six as the best performing rider on a four-cylinder machine in race two after winning a race-long fight with Chili.

1. Troy Bayliss, Ducati 998F02, 25 laps, 40:07.599
2. Colin Edwards, Honda RC51, -3.329
3. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia RSV1000, -8.447
4. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 998F01, -14.089
5. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 998F02, -21.484
6. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R750Y, -36.166
7. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, -36.544
8. Chris Walker, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -44.766
9. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, -60.252
10. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, -66.518
11. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -74.551
12. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, -76.338
13. Michele Malatesta, Ducati 996RS, -85.295
14. Broc Parkes, Ducati 998RS, -88.068
15. Bertrand Stey, Honda RC51, -1 lap
16. Marjan Malec, Ducati 996RS, -1 lap
17. Giuliano Sartoni, Ducati 996RS, -1 lap
18. Peter Goddard, Benelli Tornado 900, -10 laps, DNF
19. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -11 laps, DNF
20. Paolo Blora, Ducati 996RS, -15 laps, DNF
21. Mark Heckles, Honda RC51, -17 laps, DNF
22. Serafino Foti, Ducati 996RS, -19 laps, DNF
23. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 998F02, -20 laps, DNF
24. James Toseland, Ducati 998F01, -21 laps, DNF
25. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati 998RS, -23 laps, DNF
26. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, -23 laps, DNF
27. Alessandro Valia, Ducati 996RS, -25 laps, DNF

World Superbike Championship Standings:

1. Bayliss, 360 points
2. Edwards, 311 points
3. Hodgson, 194 points
4. Haga, 182 points
5. Bostrom, 165 points
6. Xaus, 152 points
7. Toseland, 107 points
8. Walker, 97 points
9. Lavilla, 84 points
10. Chili, 77 points

More, from HM PLant Ducati:

Mixed fortunes for the HM Plant Ducatis

HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing’s Neil Hodgson just missed out on his second podium finish of the day at Misano after a superb display of aggressive riding against title rivals Troy Bayliss, Colin Edwards and Noriyuki Haga. Team-mate James Toseland retired his HM Plant Ducati on the fifth lap after a case of mistaken identity! The 21-year-old Yorkshireman was awarded a stop-and-go penalty, but mistook his signal for a black flag and pulled off the track at the first available opportunity.

As he had promised at the end of the first leg, Hodgson mixed it with the leading pair of Bayliss and Edwards from the start of the race. The 28-year-old HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing star got the holeshot and participated in a tight tussle for the lead. Eventually he had to give way to the ‘Texan Tornado’ and the reigning World Champion, with Bayliss taking the chequered flag for his 13th win from 16 starts in 2002. While Hodgson was unable to sustain the pace set by the leaders, he disputed the last rostrum position with a rejuvenated Haga until the closing stages of the race.

“I really enjoyed that race,” said Hodgson after 25 gruelling laps. “I was determined to get off the line and prove that I could match the pace set by the front two [Bayliss and Edwards]. I’m at my best when the racing is as close as that at the front of the field, but I couldn’t keep with them when they got by. Then, I ended up in a dogfight with Haga, which was better than riding around by myself as I had done in race one. Overall, I’m pleased with the progress that we’ve made this weekend and I’ve made up for the points that I lost at Lausitzring last time out.”

Toseland’s retirement came at the end of a day that had promised so much: “After qualifying fifth in Superpole, I was aiming to replicate that level of achievement in the races. Unfortunately, I was undone by my eagerness to get off the line quickly in the second race. I was penalised for a jump-start, but the guy holding the board with my number on gave me the impression that it was a black flag. I didn’t want to fall foul of the officials, so I quickly turned off the track as a safety precaution.”


More, from Aprilia:

NORIYUKI HAGA AND APRILIA MAKE ROSTRUM AT MISANO

Misano (Rimini), Sunday 23 June – Noriyuki Haga came third in the second leg of the San Marino Superbike GP which took place at Misano in front of 68,000 spectators. The Japanese ace made his sixth podium this season. Haga rode the hundredth Superbike race in his career on the Adriatic circuit, strengthening his hold on fourth place in the World Championship ratings. In the first race, Nitro-Nori came fourth and, at the end of the day, he proved to have been the fastest rider on Dunlop tyres. The most exciting moment of the day was in race 2, when he managed to make sure British rider Neil Hodgson stayed off the rostrum with a spectacular pass on the Parco chicane. Both races took place in sweltering heat: 33 degrees in the air, 55 on the tarmac.

NORIYUKI HAGA (Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team rider) – “I was just knocked out by the effort – all I want to do now is to get back home and recoup in time for the USA GP on 14 July. The tarmac was boiling and halfway through the race the engine started giving off an overwhelming amount of heat. But that wasn’t all: when I was in his slipstream, Hodgson’s exhaust was blowing scorching air at me. Even so, I very happy. We tried out a new rear tyre from Dunlop which gave us some encouraging results.”

GIACOMO GUIDOTTI (Technical Manager, Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team) – “We mounted a tyre we’d only received on Saturday morning. It didn’t appear great in the tests, but then we changed the settings and things got much better. Now we’ve got some good groundwork done, so we’ll be using what we’ve learnt for the next race at Laguna Seca. Being on the rostrum is always exciting but it’s not enough. We’re doing all we can to get back into top spot.”


More, from a Honda press release:

BAYLISS DOUBLE AT MISANO AS EDWARDS CONTINUES CHARGE IN SEASON-LONG DOUBLE ACT

Defending world champion Troy Bayliss won both races of Sunday’s eighth round of the World Superbike championship as Castrol Honda’s Colin Edwards kept up the pressure on the Australian with two runner places after leading both 25-lap races.

Edwards set the early pace in the opening race, passing Bayliss at the third corner of the first lap. The SP-2 rider controlled the race until lap 10 as Bayliss took up the running and set about recording his 12th victory of the year all on his spare machine. His team were forced to roll his number one machine off the starting grid with a technical problem.

Edwards maintained the pressure on Bayliss in the sweltering Misano heat and crossed the finish line just 2.9s behind. Edwards said: “There wasn’t really any more I could do. I wanted to make the break at the start but that didn’t come off and when Troy came by I sat with him and had a look at what his machine and tyres were doing.”

He continued: “As the race went on the heat took its toll on the tyres and there was nothing I could do to get close to Troy. I made a mistake on the lap that Troy passed me and that unsettled me a little. I missed a gear through a left-hander and I knew Troy was right behind me so he can’t have been far from clipping my rear wheel.”

Bayliss and Edwards once more showed the 2002 superiority of the Michelin tyres with Edwards crossing the finish line 12 seconds ahead of the private Ducati of Neil Hodgson.

Hodgson held third place throughout and was followed home by the twin-cylinder machines of Aprilia’s Noriyuki Haga and Ducati’s Ben Bostrom. Veteran Pier-Francesco Chili took sixth place while Kawasaki’s Chris Walker won a race-long battle with James Toseland for seventh.

Edwards was again quick to hit the front in the second outing, passing holeshot rider Hodgson on lap two, only for the British rider to hit back. Edwards edged Hodgson out for the second and final time on the fifth lap and immediately eased open a gap.

The lap six action included Ruben Xaus crashing the factory Ducati lasting two laps longer than he did in the opening race, both times the Spaniard escaped injury. Bayliss and Edwards then swapped places a lap later but it was a determined Edwards who maintained the lead until the 15th lap when Bayliss once more took over.

Bayliss took advantage as Edwards began to lose traction and the Australian sealed his second win of the day by three seconds. Edwards’ second place once more proved that the pairing were in control at the head of the field.

Edwards said: “I’m trying everything I know out there and I feel like I’m riding as well as I ever had. Maybe I just need that little bit of bottom end power that I lacked in Germany two weeks ago. I couldn’t do much in the last 10 laps, the rear tyre was sideways out of every corner.”

He continued: “Once Troy got in front I was intent on staying with him and it worked for a while but I’d cooked the rear tyre and it was spinning off the corner where his wasn’t. I don’t know what it is I have to do to get the better of Troy but I’ll never stop trying. We’ve got my home round at Laguna Seca next and I’m planning on winning there.”

Noriyuki Haga took his first podium finish for three rounds with third place, overhauling Hodgson as the Briton took fourth to defend his third place in the championship. Bostrom repeated his fifth place of the earlier race while Suzuki’s Gregorio Lavilla improved from an opening race 10th to take sixth.

Lavilla’s sixth place came after he held off the charging Chili who made an unsuccessful, daring last corner move on his Spanish rival. Walker took eighth while his first race challenger Toseland misread a ‘stop-and-go’ penalty instruction for a jump start and stopped on the circuit, believing he had a technical problem with his machine.

HRC kit SP-2 rider Mark Heckles took 19th place in the first race but was forced out of race two on the ninth lap with a broken footrest on his Castrol Honda Rumi machine.


Ten Kate Honda team’s Fabien Foret made up for the disappointment of the last round as he rode into the lead of the World Supersport championship with victory in a sensational race at Misano.

Foret was one of six riders to lead the 23-lap battle including championship leader before Misano, Stephane Chambon who crashed while leading on the second lap, remounted in 30th place and finished 13th.

Victory for Foret was his third of the year as he pipped Suzuki’s Katsuaki Fujiwara by 0.086s. James Whitham took third place on a Yamaha after the first three plus Paolo Casoli and Christian Kellner were locked in a five-way tussle for most of the race.

Winner Foret said: “After winning the last round in Germany then being excluded on a minor technicality I wanted revenge today. I tried to makethe break at the start of the race but, after a while, I realised there was nothing I could do to get away. I then sat in there and waited for the closing stages of the race.”

Kellner finished fourth with Casoli dropping back to a lonely fifth place. Reigning champion Andrew Pitt was relegated from first to fourth place halfway around the eighth lap before the Australian then ran wide and lost his chance of victory, eventually finishing sixth.

CBR600 Hondas filled the next three places with BKM’s Christophe Cogan seventh, van Zon team’s Chris Vermeulen eighth and Cogan’s team-mate Robert Ulm ninth.


More, from a release issued by Bayliss’ publicist:

BAYLISS EXTENDS WINNING STREAK WITH A DOUBLE VICTORY IN ITALY

Misano, Italy (Sunday, June 23) – In front of an emphatic Italian crowd, Australia’s defending World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss has won both races at today’s San Marino round of the Superbike World Championship, taking his tally of race victories for the season to thirteen from the sixteen races held to date.

Today’s victories see him equal multiple World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty’s tally of thirteen wins in one season, the second highest and closing on the all-time season record of seventeen wins in one season, held by American Doug Polen on his way to winning the 1991 World Championship.

More importantly for Bayliss is that he now leads the Superbike World Championship with a total of 360 points, forty-nine clear of arch rival Colin Edwards, who finished second to Bayliss in both 25-lap races today.

The double race victory, his sixth of the season, capped off another dominant weekend for the Infostrada Ducati rider. He secured his fourth pole position of the year, by shattering the lap record by almost two seconds, before setting a new Superbike lap record on lap two of the opening race with a time of 1-min 34.913-secs around the 4.060km circuit.

With temperatures rising to the mid thirties with the track temperature rising to above 50ºC, Bayliss battled with Edwards in the opening laps of the first race before taking the race lead on lap ten with a slipstreaming move down the fast back straight. Once in the race lead he slowly worked away at building a buffer over Edwards and at the conclusion of 25-laps was 2.906 seconds clear of the American, with Britain’s Neil Hodgson third aboard his HM Plant Ducati.

Race two saw Bayliss trailing Hodgson and Edwards in the opening laps before passing first, Hodgson on lap six and then Edwards a lap later to take the race lead momentarily. He ran wide at the end of the fast back straight allowing Edwards to regain the race lead. The pair began to battle closely until lap 18 when Bayliss took the race lead and applied the pressure once more and eased away to his second win of the day by 3.329 seconds from Edwards. Japan’s Noriyuki Haga (Playstation2 Aprilia) took third ahead of Hodgson, with Ben Bostrom (L&M Ducati) making it a pair of fifths for the day.

“Everything worked out perfect today, it was a really good result and it’s always great to win in Italy especially in front of so many fans,” said Bayliss. “The conditions here have also made it a very hard weekend for us. With the temperature so high, it’s not to be caught behind others out on the track as the fumes and heat from the exhausts make it quite difficult to breathe. You can stay behind someone for a little while but not too long.

“There was a bit of a problem on the start line of the first race when the bike wouldn’t start, but the Infostrada Ducati team is working so well that my other bike was ready in pit lane with the exact same settings as I had on the other bike and I barely felt the difference once the race started. For me the second race was a lot more interesting. Colin was trying very hard in the early laps to break away and I was back in third behind him and Neil Hodgson. The fumes and the heat started to get to me as I followed them, so I pushed harder to get by and it was better out in front. I used the same tyre as I did in the first race, but had to work harder as the track was about 10ºC hotter made things a bit more slippery. We also had the bike set up slightly different than normal with a shorter wheelbase so that it would steer quicker. The only problem with that was that the rear of the bike was snapping around a lot more than usual, but it was OK.”

The Superbike World Championship has a three-week break before taking to the Laguna Seca Raceway in California for round nine of the championship on July 13 – 14.


More, from a Ducati press release:

BAYLISS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) BRAVES MISANO HEAT TO TAKE SIXTH DOUBLE WIN

BOSTROM (DUCATI L&M) TWICE BATTLES TO FIFTH – XAUS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) CRASHES OUT

Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) continued his extraordinarily successful season with his sixth double win of the year, in round 8 of the World Superbike Championship at a scorching Misano Adriatico. In front of a record 68,000 fans, the Australian world champion had to beat off the challenge from Honda’s Colin Edwards, who twice finished runner-up. Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) started from the second slot on the grid but had to make do with two fifth places, while Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) had an unhappy weekend, crashing out early in both races. Britain’s Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) was third in the first race while the final podium place in race 2 went to Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia).

For the second time this year, Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) had to change bikes just minutes before the start after a clutch problem developed, but after trailing Colin for the first 9 laps, he then powered past the Texan before the Curva del Tramonto. “Everything went well for me at the end but we had to throw a little bit of drama in on the start-line when I had a clutch problem and had to switch bikes. That’s no real problem as I can’t tell them apart and I came to the start grid last and kept nice and cool” declared Troy. “I followed Colin for a while, it was really hot behind the exhausts and it takes your breath away so I didn’t think it was a good idea to stay there for too long. I got past Colin and then had another little drama when my left-hand handgrip was working its way off but I’m happy with the result”.

In race 2 Bayliss and Edwards again traded places at the front with several spectacular passing moves at the Tramonto but the Australian eventually got the better of the Texan on lap 18 and made it stick until the chequered flag with an impressive series of quick laps, taking his thirteenth win of the season. “Maybe my winning streak will stop at Laguna, where I’ve never had any really good results!” he added. “But I’m looking forward to going there this year because Michelin are coming out with some great tyres. It’s been a really hot and hard weekend here at Misano, Colin rode a couple of fantastic races but what I’m looking forward now more than anything is a cold beer!”.

A wrong choice of tyre in race 1 left Bostrom (Ducati L&M) struggling throughout the 25 laps. “I picked the wrong tyre, different to Neil and Nori and I couldn’t even lean the bike over the way I want to. I was sure I could have got onto the podium but after the first lap the tyre started to get real hot and I thought ‘that was that’.

“I changed the tyre for the second race and rode really hard but unfortunately the result was the same, I was just spinning the rear wheel coming out onto the back straight. I gained two-tenths in every lap and I was riding so hard but as the race went on I was having less and less grip. Pity, I was really looking forward to this race, now it’ll have to be Laguna”.

Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) had a difficult weekend, crashing out on lap 4 of race 1 and then lap 6 of the second race. “There’s nothing to say, I just lost control in both races and crashed and I’m very disappointed. I was hoping to get some more points on the board and move up the table”.


More, from a Suzuki press release:

SIXTH PLACE FOR LAVILLA IN SAN MARINO

Team Alstare Suzuki rider Gregorio Lavilla recorded a superb sixth place at the San Marino round of the Superbike World Championship at Misano today.

The Spaniard had a tremendous race-long battle with former Suzuki Alstare rider Pierfrancesco Chili during the second race, and would not let the Italian get away from him. Instead, Gregorio emerged the stronger and deservedly took sixth place by nearly half a second.

A tyre problem in the first race prevented Gregorio from getting a good result. Despite many lurid slides, he kept going and finished tenth.

Both races today were won by Troy Bayliss (Ducati).

GREGORIO LAVILLA – Race 1: 10th, Race 2: 6th

“I’m happy to get my best result of the season in the second race after a great fight with Chili. It was good fun! And maybe I could’ve got a good result in the first race as well, if it was not for a tyre problem. It was very hard work, especially in these very hot conditions. I made a good start in the first race but very soon my tyre behaved a bit strangely and I it didn’t work as well as the same one yesterday. I nearly highsided a couple of times! I lost touch with the leaders and that was that. In race two, we used the same set-up and the same tyre and it worked really well and I lapped over a second a lap quicker. I’m really pleased with the weekend’s results.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

We all knew after Troy Bayliss’ record breaking Superpole lap yesterday that a double win for him today was inevitable. That double is now even more likely after Bayliss cruised to yet another win in what is proving to be an incredible season for the Infostrada Ducati rider. Today’s win came after Troy was forced to swap bikes after the sighting lap. Colin Edwards put Bayliss under some early pressure, and even held the lead for a few laps, but Bayliss wore him down to take the win.

Bayliss got the holeshot but Edwards dived inside at the first turn. But Bayliss was back at him in the next corner. The pair struck away out front with Edwards again in the lead, leaving Neil Hodgson, Ruben Xaus, Ben Bostrom and Nori Haga to fight over their crumbs. The battle got too hot for Xaus who stepped off on lap four exiting the chicane.

Hodgson made sure of third with some spirited riding. It was perfectly obvious just how hard he was pushing it ­ his HM Plant Ducati was doing its best to swap ends out of turns. Even Bayliss was having his moments, he saved a near highside early in the race, but it didn¹t slow him down at all. All Edwards could do was watch Bayliss ride off to a win. Hodgson settled down to take third in front of Haga in fourth and Bostrom in fifth. All three riders were alone for much of the race.

Pierfrancesco Chili broke away from a scrap with Chris Walker and James Toseland to take sixth.

With the result decided, bar a mistake on Bayliss’ part, the attention turned to a titanic scrap going on between Toseland and Walker for seventh place. Walker lived up to his nickname, The Stalker, stalking Toseland for several laps before making his move on the last lap. He drove past Toseland’s Ducati, wringing every ounce of power out of his Kawasaki. Both riders were leaving massive black lines out of every turn as their battered tires struggled with the heat and the pace. They swapped the position three or four times on that lap before Toseland got in a big slide a few turns from the end. He kept it pinned to try to keep his pace up and grabbed too much throttle coming out of the Variante Arena turn. The bike slipped, gripped and tossed the young British rider high into the air. Toseland kept hold of the bars, landed in the saddle and rode momentarily onto the grass. By the time he got the plot back under control, Walker had made seventh his.

First race results:
1. Troy Bayliss, Ducati 998F02, 25 laps, 40:04.994
2. Colin Edwards, Honda RC51, -2.906
3. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 998F01, -14.095
4. Noriyuki Haga,Aprilia RSV1000, -19.000
5. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 998F02, -33.644
6. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, -42.275
7. Chris Walker, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -47.899
8. James Toseland, Ducati 998F01, -49.885
9. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, -53.545
10. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R750Y, -57.204
11. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, -63.071
12. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -70.073
13. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, -75.226
14. Serafino Foti, Ducati 996RS, -86.304
15. Peter Goddard, Benelli Tornado 900, -93.220
16. Paolo Blora, Ducati 996RS,-1 lap
17. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, -1 lap
18. Alessandro Valia, Ducati 996RS, -1 lap
19. Mark Heckles, Honda RC51, -1 lap
20. Bertrand Stey, Honda RC51, -1 lap
21. Marjan Malec, Ducati 996RS, -1 lap
22. Michele Malatesta, Ducati 996RS, -20 laps, DNF
23. Broc Parkes, Ducati 998RS, -21 laps, DNF
24. Giuliano Sartoni, Ducati 996RS, -21 laps, DNF
25. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 998F02, -22 laps, DNF, crash
26. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, -22 laps, DNF
27. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati 998RS, -25 laps, DNF

More, from a HM Plant Ducati release:

Hodgson back on the podium at Misano

HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing’s Neil Hodgson finished third in the first race at Misano behind Troy Bayliss and Colin Edwards after 25 scorching laps of the 4km circuit near Rimini. Team-mate James Toseland was eighth on his HM Plant Ducati after a blistering battle with fellow British rider Chris Walker.

Bayliss got the holeshot into turn one only to be passed by Edwards midway through the first lap, with Hodgson holding a watching brief in third. The top three then pulled away from the rest of the field, with the only change in position recorded when Bayliss outbraked Edwards into Tramonto on lap ten. The remainder of the race was processional with Bayliss, Edwards and Hodgson finishing in their overall championship running order.

“I was able to get off the line well and got towed along by the leading duo for the first seven or eight laps,” said 28-year-old Hodgson after his fourth rostrum position of the season. “After that I had a lonely but enjoyable ride and was even able to conserve my energy for the second leg over the last five laps. There was nothing that I could do about Troy or Colin. They’ve been fast all the way through testing and I knew that it would be difficult to beat them. I’ll have to try harder – if that’s possible – and see if I can get in between them in the next race.”

The other two top British contenders in the World Superbike field had a close dice for seventh, but Toseland made a critical and ultimately decisive mistake on the last lap: “I was leading Chili and Walker in the early stages of the race, before Chili got passed me and pulled away. That left me fending off Walker and I thought I had seventh in the bag until the last lap. I overcooked it on the chicane, the back end came round and I had to back off, letting him through to take the flag.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss fought over provisional pole under the burning Italian sun at Misano. The pair pushed each other harder and harder as the session wore on, but in the end it was again Bayliss who prevailed, holding onto provisional pole with a time of 1:34.420 compared to Edwards’ best effort of 1:34.561.

Ben Bostrom was also up there on the timesheet but couldn’t match the lead duo. He finished the session third on 1:34.669, just ahead of Neil Hodgson who made a late charge into fourth.

The provisional second row features Pierfrancesco Chili, Noriyuki Haga, Ruben Xaus and James Toseland. Steve Martin was just edged off the second row by Toseland in the closing stages.
Martin’s first Pirelli rider, qualifying for this afternoon’s Superpole in ninth.

The grid will be final decided in the heat of Superpole at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon.

World Superbike
Misano, San Marino
Combined qualifying times

1. Troy Bayliss, Ducati 998F02, 1:34.420
2. Colin Edwards, Honda RC51, 1:34.561
3. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 998F02, 1:34.669
4. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 998F01,1:34.717
5. Pierfrancesco Chili,Ducati 998RS, 1:34.802
6. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia RSV1000, 1:35.110
7. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 998F02, 1:35.390
8. James Toseland, Ducati 998F01, 1:35.464
9. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS,1:35.641
10. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 1:35.689
11. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, 1:35.767
12. Chris Walker, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:36.144
13. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:36.210
14. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, 1:36.276
15. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:36.963
16. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati 998RS, 1:36.995
17. Serafino Foti, Ducati 996RS, 1:37.016
18. Broc Parkes, Ducati 998RS, 1:37.273
19. Peter Goddard, Benelli Tornado 900,1:37.296
20. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:37.774
21. Hitoyasu Izutsu, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:37.811
22. Michele Malatesta, Ducati 996RS, 1:38.746
23. Alessandro Valia, Ducati 996RS, 1:38.855
24. Mark Heckles, Honda RC51, 1:39.069
25. Bertrand Stey, Honda RC51, 1:39.123
26. Paolo Blora, Ducati 996RS, 1:39.322
27. Giuliano Sartoni, Ducati 996RS, 1:40.153
28. Marjan Malec, Ducati 996RS, 1:40.883
NQ. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 996RS, 1:41.065
NQ. Yann Gyger,Honda RC51, 1:41.229
NQ. Cristian Caliumi, Ducati 996RS, 1:42.055

From a press release:

The heat is on at Misano

HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing’s Neil Hodgson and James Toseland flew the Union Jack proudly at Misano by recording their fastest ever lap times, but it wasn’t enough to beat reigning World Champion Troy Bayliss in an incredible Superpole. Bayliss hammered his Ducati 998 F02 around the 4km track in an amazing time of 1:33.525, just over 0.5 seconds faster than team-mate Ben Bostrom, Colin Edwards, Hodgson and Toseland.

The heat was certainly on during qualifying for the eighth round of the Superbike World Championship with scorching afternoon sunshine providing the ultimate test for the riders, superbikes and tyres. However, the Ducati riders responded to dominate the final grid positions – eight of the top ten riders will line-up on the Italian machines for Sunday’s two races on home soil.

Neil Hodgson’s fastest lap of 1:34.356 was almost a full second inside his pole position time from last year. The HM Plant Ducati star was delighted with his time and is looking forward to race day: “I achieved my objective of going under the 1:35 barrier this morning and knew that I could go even faster with a qualifying tyre on a clear track. That’s the way it turned out, but fair play to Troy who seems to have an awesome set-up here at Misano.

“HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing has had a good practice day and haven’t really had any problems. We’ve worked hard to get the best out of the HM Plant Ducatis and I’m confident that I’ll be able to jump back on to the podium tomorrow. My main aim is to consolidate my third position in the championship and maybe take some points off the front two [Bayliss and Edwards] if I have the opportunity.”

Fifth position represented Toseland’s best qualifying position in the series and he was delighted with his breathtaking Superpole lap: “I’ve often performed well in qualifying, only to make a mess of my Superpole lap. So, I’m over the moon to have made it on to the front of row two. A good start is imperative at Misano and I’m in a good position to achieve it. I said at the start of the season that I’d be hoping for the odd rostrum finish, so that has got to be my goal tomorrow.”

From a Ten Kate Honda press release:

Foret has the pole position habit

Fabien Foret withstood temperatures in the upper thirties to take his third pole position in three races here at Misano today.

While other riders wilted in the heat or suffered from bike problems, Foret kept his cool to head the pack again. “I could have gone faster still,” said Foret, “but there were no other riders putting pressure on me so I didn’t see the point of pushing even harder in this heat. But my bike feels great, I have a very good race set up and am confident that my Pirelli tyres and WP Suspension can cope with the extreme conditions.”

His team mate Iain MacPherson dropped down the order late in the session to finish ninth on the grid after a freak incident. MacPherson banged his knee so hard on the kerb while running a fast lap late in the session that he found he couldn’t shift gear. “I ran off the track and then just sat on my bike trying to let the pain pass,” explained MacPherson. Doctors trackside thought he was suffering from heat exhaustion and hussled him onto a stretcher. MacPherson, who is from Scotland, couldn’t make his real predicament understood until he arrived back at the medical centre. By the time he was released, the session was over.

Team Manager Ronald ten Kate was happy again to see one of his riders in pole position. “The problem at Misano is very specific heat! We’re spending a lot of time and effort on keeping the riders cool with ice and fans and the bikes cool with blowers.”

He was also full of praise for the Honda CBR600FS, “This bike is cool, literally! The race tomorrow will be very hard on bikes, tyres and riders, but I am confident we have the best combination of all three.”

From a press release, revealing the existance of new “evolution tires” from Dunlop:

SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Eighth round

SAN MARINO
Misano circuit, 4,060 m.
Second Qualifying Sessions

NORIYUKI HAGA ON SECOND ROW AT MISANO

Misano (Rimini), Saturday 22 June – Noriyuki Haga made sixth quickest time in the Superpole to establish the starting grid placings at the San Marino Grand Prix – the eighth round of the Superbike World Championship being held at Misano. The Japanese Playstation2-FGF Aprilia rider moves down one place compared with Friday’s ratings. The tests on the new evolution tyres, which arrived in the morning after being rushed in directly from the Dunlop factory in Britain, did not give the hoped-for results. On a track which has never given him great satisfaction in the past, Haga will be aiming to improve his position in the two races tomorrow.

NORIYUKI HAGA (Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team rider) – “I didn’t feel set-up and tyres were all that right: I tried out all sorts of solutions but in the end we rather lost track. The intense heat is making the tarmac very slippery and I haven’t got the grip I’d like to have. Still, the race is quite long enough, so we’ll see what happens.”

GIACOMO GUIDOTTI (Technical Manager, Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team) – “Haga didn’t get on too well with the evolution tyres we tested for the first time today: perhaps we needed more time. We’ve decided to test them again during the warm up. We haven’t got the settings right either – especially the fork. What’s more, after his two slides on Friday, Haga was tending to keep himself on the safe side.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Ben Bostrom threw down the gauntlet to Troy Bayliss this afternoon in Superpole, setting a lap at almost 1:34 dead. Bostrom’s time of 1:34.074 looked good enough to claim pole. Colin Edwards was unable to beat it, but then came along the man of the moment, Troy Bayliss.

Giving a perfect display of controlled aggression, Bayliss lapped the Santa Monica circuit in Misano to take pole for tomorrow’s San Marino Superbike races. Bayliss recorded an incredible time of 1:33.525, half a second
quicker than Bostrom to confirm who’s boss in this series this year.

There seems little Bayliss can do wrong at the moment and all bets have to be on the Ducati Infostrada rider for yet another double in the races on Sunday. While the other riders making it to the front row looked like they were really trying, using all of the track and visibly sliding around, Bayliss looked like he was out for a quiet ride.

Colin Edwards was third fastest with Neil Hodgson rounding out the front row.

1. Troy Bayliss, AUS, Ducati, 1:33.525
2. Ben Bostrom, USA, Ducati, 1:34.074
3. Colin Edwards, USA, Honda, 1:34.258
4. Neil Hodgson, GBR, Ducati, 1:34.356
5. James Toseland, GBR, Ducati, 1:35.004
6. Noriyuki Haga, JPN, Aprilia, 1:35.032
7. Lucio Pedercini, ITA, Ducati, 1:35.459
8. Ruben Xaus, ESP, Ducati, 1:35.511
9. Steve Martin, AUS, Ducati, 1:35.517
10. Pierfrancesco Chili, ITA, Ducati, 1:35.931
11. Juan Borja, ESP, Ducati, 1:36.054
12. Chris Walker, GBR, Kawasaki, 1:36.202
13. Gregorio Lavilla, ESP, Suzuki, 1:36.253
14. M. Borciani, ITA, Ducati, 1:36.480
15. A. Antonello, ITA, Ducati, 1:36.893
16. Mauro Sanchini, ITA, Ducati, 1:37.227

More, from Bayliss publicist Steve Reeves:

TROY BAYLISS Racing
Media Information
For immediate release
Saturday, 22 June 2002

Round 8, 2002 Superbike World Championship

Autodromo di Misano, Misano Adriatica, Italy

Final Qualifying and Superpole Report

ELECTRIC BAYLISS TAKES POLE FOR MISANO SUPERBIKE ROUND

Misano, Italy (Saturday, June 22) – Defending World Superbike champion, Australian Troy Bayliss will start tomorrow’s eighth round of the Superbike World Championship from pole position after a sensational lap during Superpole put him well clear of his rivals at the Misano circuit in Italy.

Bayliss was almost two seconds under the existing superbike lap record as he produced an immaculate Superpole lap, stopping the clocks with a time of 1:33.525 aboard his Infostrada Ducati 998F-02. The only rider to dip into the 1:33 mark around the 4.060km circuit, Bayliss was 0.549 of a second clear of American Ben Bostrom (L&M Ducati) who was second fast with a 1:34.074. Colin Edwards (Castrol Honda) took third for tomorrow’s grid with a 1:34.258, with Britain’s Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) taking the final spot on the front row of the grid with a 1:34.356.

Today’s pole position takes Bayliss to a total of four for the season and his second consecutive pole after taking the number one position at Germany two weeks ago.

“That was a very special lap I must say,” said Bayliss after Superpole. “That is the fastest that I’ve ever been around here, including the times that we did a couple of years ago when the chicanes were slightly different and a lot faster. Just as I was walking out of my pit garage to the bike I saw that everyone was cheering that Ben (Bostrom) had done a good time, so I knew that I had to pull something special out and I did.

“The whole package is working extremely well at the moment, the bike, the tyres, the team, everything. I couldn’t be happier.” Bayliss added. “As for tomorrow, I know that Colin (Edwards) will be strong as usual, but I’m not sure about the others at the moment. It is forecast to be a lot hotter tomorrow, so 25 laps around here will be extremely difficult both for the riders and the tyres.”

The second row of the grid is headed by James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) who after being eighth fastest during qualifying worked his way to fifth during Superpole with a 1:35.004. He was followed by Noriyuki Haga (Playstation2 Aprilia, 1:35.032), Lucio Pedercini (Pedercini Ducati, 1:35.459) and Ruben Xaus (Infostrada Ducati, 1:35.511). Steve Martin (DFX Ducati, 1:35.517) and Pierfrancesco Chili (NCR Ducati, 1:35.931) rounded out the top ten.

Bayliss heads into tomorrow’s two 25-lap SWC races holding a 39-point lead over Edwards in the championship (310 to 271) with the pair well clear of third placed Hodgson who has a total of 165 points.

The Australian rider has had a brilliant start to his title defence in 2002. Eleven wins from fourteen races and no worse finishing position than fifth, illustrate his determination in clinching his second SWC crown. His staggering win rate may suggest a dominance of the class, but he has been pressured all of the way by Edwards, with the American remaining within striking distance and ready to capitalise on any opportunity provided to him.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

The heat is on in Supersport

Fabien Foret refused to wilt in the intense heat at Misano, running just fast enough to grab pole position again. Temperatures soared up to 37
degrees C (99 degrees F) with 50% humidity for the session, which was held mid-afternoon. Several riders suffered from the heat, either personally or mechanically.

Katsuaki Fujiwara was second fastest, but Foret claimed there was no pressure on him to ride faster. “I could have gone faster still, but no one was putting any pressure on me, so I didn¹t bother to push any harder in the heat.”

Stephane Chambon finished with third on the grid for Sunday’s race, despite suffering from bike problems which saw him pull off the track in the middle of a lap. Andrew Pitt made fourth fastest, after crashing out earlier in the session. His teammate James Ellison also crashed. Robert Ulm, riding for Van Zon Honda TKR in place of the injured Werner Daemon, is first man on the
second row. Ulm lines up on the second row in front of Cogan Kellner and Casoli.

The Belgarda Yamahas struggled with carburation in the heat, while the teams running CBR Hondas claimed the fuel injection was coping with the
conditions without problem.

Iain MacPherson dropped down to ninth after hitting his knee so hard on the curb while running a fast lap late in the session that he found he couldn’t shift gear. “I ran off the track and then just sat on my bike trying to let
the pain pass,” explained MacPherson. Doctors trackside thought he was suffering from heat exhaustion and hussled him onto a stretcher. MacPherson, who is from Scotland, couldn’t make his real predicament understood until he
arrived back at the medical center.

Final World Supersport qualifying times:
1. Fabien Foret, Honda, 1:37.669
2. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki, 1:37.864
3. Stéphane Chambon, Suzuki, 1:38.021
4. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 1:38.129
5. Robert Ulm, Honda, 1:38.201
6. Christophe Cogan, Honda, 1:38.304
7. Christian Kellner, Yamaha, 1:38.315
8. Paolo Casoli, Yamaha, 1:38.324
9. Iain MacPherson, Honda, 1:38.396
10. Jörg Teuchert, Yamaha, 1:38.499
11. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha, 1:38.522
12. James Whitham, Yamaha, 1:38.586
13. Stefano Cruciani, Yamaha, 1:38.590
14. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Ducati, 1:38.590
15. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, 1:38.594
16. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha, 1:38.810
17. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, 1:38.990
18. Christian Zaiser, Yamaha, 1:39.191
19. Antonio Carlacci, Yamaha, 1:39.210
20. James Ellison, Kawasaki, 1:39.308
21. Camillo Mariottini, Yamaha, 1:39.516
22. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, 1:39.728
23. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha, 1:40.183
24. Nigel Arnold, Honda, 1:40.217
25. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda, 1:40.439
26. Diego Giugovaz, Yamaha, 1:40.536
27. John McGuinness, Honda, 1:40.565
28. Cristian Magnani, Yamaha, 1:40.643
29. Claudio Cipriani, Yamaha, 1:40.673
30. Robert Frost, Yamaha, 1:40.936
31. Norino Brignola, Suzuki, 1:41.321