Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Proton Team KR is already assembling a new V5 four stroke MotoGP engine with mock-up parts. A story on the team’s new website describes how a new rapid prototyping system produces full-size engine parts in resin allowing the parts to be assembled into a complete engine, checked for fit and corrected without the necessity of casting or forging any metal.

“Our target is to be testing the V5 four-stroke in November, and ready to race at the start of next season,” Proton Team KR owner Kenny Leroy Roberts is quoted as saying in the story. Roberts went on to tell reporters at the Donington Park GP that his engine is a 60-degree, 990cc V5 unlike Honda’s 75.5-degree V5.


Meanwhile, Roberts eldest son, former 500cc World Champion and current Suzuki MotoGP racer Kenny Lee Roberts, will miss the next round of the MotoGP World Championship series, the German Grand Prix at Sachsenring, in order to have surgery to correct Compartment Syndrome, or “arm pump” as it is commonly referred to.
“I’ve had problems ever since we started riding the four-stroke,” Roberts is quoted as saying on Suzuki’s racing website. “The bike is heavier and takes more muscling around, and you also have to blip the throttle to back-shift while you’re braking, which puts a lot more strain on your arm.
“I’ve been suffering from fatigue and pumping up, and we planned to have the operation done quietly during the summer break.
“Then at the last round at Assen I had a lot more trouble than I’d anticipated. It’s a very physical track, with no straight where you can rest even for a second.
“I had more trouble today, and after discussions with the team and the factory we decided it would be better to go ahead with the surgery directly. The usual recovery time is three to five weeks, but this will give us a little longer.
“I had to have it done anyway. The main thing is to get fit for when the season starts again in Czecho. We’re expecting continued development for the bike there, so it is crucial for me to be at 100 percent for that race.”
Suzuki has announced that Yukio Kagayama will abandon his testing of the Suzuki GSV-R prototype in the All-Japan Road Race Series and fill-in for Roberts at the MotoGP round at Sachsenring.

Meanwhile, Suzuki’s Akira Ryo will stay on in Europe and race the German and Czech Republic Grands Prix thanks to two more wild card rides. Ryo’s presence in the MotoGP series, says Suzuki, is helping development of the GSV-R.

Suzuki hadn’t planned on racing the 990cc, V4 GSV-R until 2003 but pushed the project forward and began racing this year after promising results in initial testing.

Ryo was granted three wild card rides by the FIM earlier this season and took part in the races at Catalunya, Assen and Donington Park.


In other news, West Honda Pons rider Loris Capriossi has had his broken right arm set and casted by Dr. Claudio Costa at his Bologna, Italy clinic, says the team’s website. Capirossi is currently recovering at his home in Monaco and is expected to be fit in time for the Czech Republic Grand Prix August 25.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Superstock Race Results (all on Suzuki GSX-R750s unless noted):

1. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 17 laps
2. Jimmy Moore, -1.335 second
3. Craig Connell, -5.162
4. Vincent Haskovec, -11.737
5. Jason DiSalvo, -18.975
6. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, -22.088
7. Brian Parriott, -22.187
8. Robert Jensen, -32.131
9. Brian Livengood, -39.924
10. Lee Acree, -44.642
11. Owen Richey, -45.071
12. John Dugan, -45.367
13. Marco Martinez, -46.917
14. Chris Caylor, -50.195
15. Christopher Rankin, -52.832
16. Scott Jensen, -53.078
17. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR600F4i, -54.909
18. Jake Holden
19. J.J. Roetlin
20. Jeff Bostrom

37. Chris Ulrich, DNF, crash


Provisional AMA Superstock Point Standings:

1. Moore, 232 points
2. Acree, 218 points
3. Tommy Hayden, 198 points
4. Haskovec, 183 points
5. Parriott, 180 points
6. DiSalvo, 170 points
7. Meiring, 159 points
8. Livengood, 157 points
9. Connell, 145 points
10. Chris Ulrich, 124 points

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

250cc Grand Prix Race Results:

1. Marco Melandri, Aprilia, 27 laps, 42:55.728
2. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, -0.717 second
3. Toni Elias, Aprilia, -3.493 seconds
4. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, -3.934 seconds
5. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, -4.407 seconds
6. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, -19.852 seconds
7. Haruchika Aoki, Honda, -21.770 seconds
8. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, -24.580 seconds
9. Alex Debon, Aprilia, -25.987 seconds
10. Shahrol Yuzy, Yamaha, -26.202 seconds
11. Casey Stoner, Aprilia, -31.621 seconds
12. Emilio Alzamora, Honda, -36.116 seconds
13. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, -45.339 seconds
14. Taro Sekiguchi, Yamaha, -45.538 seconds
15. David Checa, Aprilia, -57.476 seconds


250cc GP World Championship Point Standings:

1. Melandri, 145 points
2. Nieto, 132 points
3. Rolfo, 107 points
4. Battaini, 80 points
5. Elias, 76 points
6. De Puniet, 76 points


More, from Aprilia:


Marco Melandri makes clean sweep at Donington: fourth win in a row.

Four Aprilia 250s in top four places.

On a track he has never much loved, Marco Melandri today got the first four-of-a-kind in his career: four victories in a row. After Sebastian Porto left the action, the race was disputed by the two greatest contenders for the title this year: Melandri and Nietro fought a great race and a truly nail-biting last lap. Fundamental for victory, Macio brought his skills as a strategist to bear in the final trip round the circuit and managed to secure his win. This is the Ravenna rider’s fifth victory this season and confirms his position at the top of the championship, putting him 13 points ahead of Nieto. Four Aprilia RSW 250s filled the first four places, with Elias and Battaini coming in behind Melandri and Nieto. When today’s race came to an end, Marco took the top spot on the rostrum holding the Emergency banner, but the “race” for solidarity will be coming to an end tomorrow when Marco’s Mugello memorabilia will be bringing in auction funds for Dott. Gino Strada’s humanitarian association.

# 3 Marco Melandri – (MS APRILIA RACING) – 1st 42’55.728

“It was a really tough, but fantastic race – it’s no easy task keeping up such a fast pace for 27 laps here at Donington. I could see that Nieto was extremely fast in the first part of the circuit while I was able to pull away in the second. I started off not in too much of a rush as I knew had some margin to work on. In the last lap, Nieto slipped past in the part of the track where I wanted him to; I pulled out to let him by – this is because I wanted to concentrate on the final sprint by staying behind through the last two corners. I kept my wits about me all the way and kept my cool from beginning to end – this is what let me concentrate on the final rush. I was coming out of the corners tighter than Fonsi so even if I opened up the throttle just a little bit later than him, at least I could do so fully. It was a great race, and always correct – an exciting race to win. I just hope the Emergency “solidarity race”, which ends tomorrow, can achieve the same success. Now we’re all concentrating on next week’s race at the Sachsenring: that’s where I got my first win in the 250 class, which I really love. I’m just hoping I can keep up the good results I’ve been getting in this fantastic period in my career.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The SBK Press Office announced that three-day attendance for the combined World Superbike/AMA Superbike event at Laguna Seca set a record at 98,000.

SBK goes on to claim in a press release that this figure makes the Laguna Seca event “the biggest ever event in the history of the Motorcycling series in the USA.”

SCRAMP officials on hand in the media center said that three-day attendance for the track’s latest CART auto racing event was approximately 68,000.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Race Results From Donington Park:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 30 laps, 46:32.888
2. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, -2.371 seconds
3. Alex Barros, Honda NSR500, -5.533 seconds
4. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, -22.036 seconds
5. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, -28.087 seconds
6. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, -28.400 seconds
7. Daijiro Kato, Honda NSR500, -28.947 seconds
8. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, -31.497 seconds
9. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, -31.947 seconds
10. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, -41.454 seconds
11. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, -49.458 seconds
12. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, -53.709 seconds
13. Akira Ryo, Suzuki GSV-R, -54.480 seconds
14. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, -54.594 seconds
15. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, -54.866 seconds
16. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, -55.525 seconds
17. Alex Hofmann, Honda NSR500, -65.901 seconds
18. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, -11 laps, DNF, crash
19. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, -24 laps, DNF, mechanical


MotoGP Point Standings:

1. Rossi, 195 points
2. Ukawa, 108 points
3. Biaggi, 89 points
4. Barros, 87 points
5. Checa, 72 points
6. Abe, 72 points
7. Capirossi, 65 points
8. Kato, 60 points
9. Jacque, 42 points
10. Hopkins, 41 points
11. Roberts, 40 points
12. Aoki, 35 points
13. Harada, 32 points
14. Nakano, 30 points
15. Ryo, 29 points


More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Yamaha:

BRITISH GP, DONINGTON PARK
Race Day, Sunday July 14 2002

MARLBORO YAMAHA DUO STAR IN BRITISH GP
Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1 rider Max Biaggi rode to a determined second-place finish in today’s sun-blessed British GP after team-mate Carlos Checa tumbled out of the lead, leaving Valentino Rossi (Honda) to win his seventh victory of the year.

Biaggi started from the second row of the grid after two tumbles during practice and immediately joined Checa and Rossi out front. The Italian, recovering from a fever that laid him low last week, stayed a close third until Checa’s exit.

“Carlos tried very hard, he was pushing very hard,” said YZR-M1 project leader Ichiro Yoda. “That’s why he crashed, because he wanted to win. I like his motivation, I really appreciate what he was doing out there today. Next time. Many riders crash at the left-hand corners here, because there aren’t so many, the left side of Carlos’ front tyre looked new after his race. Max also rode a good race. His last two GPs haven’t been so easy but he seemed more confident here, and I think we improved the handling of his machine for this track. We’ve also had positive feedback on the new crankshaft. Now we go to Germany and we’ll keep working hard to keep improving.”

Today’s crowd figure of 60,000 was three times that of Donington ’99, proving that MotoGP is rapidly gaining popularity in Britain after a period of low interest in the late nineties.

BIAGGI’S DETERMINED RUN TO SECOND
Max Biaggi scored his first podium finish in three races at Donington to move into third place in the 2002 MotoGP World Championship. This was yet another display of great determination from the four-time 250 World Champion who had suffered from a 39-degree fever last week. Fifth in qualifying, Biaggi made a superb getaway, slotting into third at turn one and staying third until race leader Carlos Checa fell. He ended the race just 2.371 seconds down on winner Valentino Rossi.

“I’m pretty satisfied because I tried 100 per cent, as usual,” said the Marlboro Yamaha Team star. “I got a pretty good start from the second row, kept the door closed for the first few laps and then worked at staying concentrated because the pace was very fast. I could stay with Carlos and Rossi, although my bike was lacking a little agility through the fast section. All things considered, it wasn’t so bad because I’d been sick for a week before I came here. I’ve been on antibiotics, which always leave you a little low on energy.”

CHECA LEADS THE WAY BEFORE FALL
Carlos Checa gave it his all in his 100th premier-class race at Donington today, running a stunning pace in his quest for the YZR-M1’s first MotoGP win. But the Marlboro Yamaha Team rider was cruelly robbed of his victory chance when he lost the front at Goddards, a treacherous off-camber hairpin that had already caught out race rivals Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi during practice. Checa had been riding a brilliant race, leading from the green light all the way to the end of the 18th lap, when he slid off without injury. He bravely restarted but his bike was too badly damaged to allow him to continue.

“I was feeling very comfortable, no problem, the bike was going well and getting better as the fuel load went down,” said the bitterly disappointed Spaniard. “I didn’t feel like I was on the limit. We’d chosen the softest front available and it was sliding a little through the lefts. I was very concentrated, I wasn’t thinking about winning, just about being smooth and consistent. Unfortunately I held on to the front brake a little more than usual at that corner and that’s when I lost it.”

RAMPANT ROSSI TAKES 46TH WIN
World Championship leader Valentino Rossi scored his 46th victory at Donington today, an important success for the Italian who was contesting his 100th GP and always runs number 46. After his win, the three-time World Champion paid tribute to Carlos Checa’s speed. “The pace was incredible, after a few laps I looked behind me and only Biaggi was there,” he said. “Checa was very, very fast and pushing very hard. I was a little faster through the fast part, a little slower through the slow part, so I don’t know what would’ve happened at the end if he hadn’t crashed.”


More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Yamaha:

BRITISH GP – DONINGTON PARK

Race Day – Sunday July 14th 2002

HOPKINS 8TH IN HIS 8TH GP WHILE McCOY COMES BACK STRONG

Red Bull Yamaha Riders, Garry McCoy and John Hopkins both had solid performances at Donington Park today, finishing in the points and moving the Red Bull Team one place further forward into 6th position in the Team World Title chase. In front of a 60,000 strong crowd, McCoy ended his run of bad luck at Donington and finished in 12th place moving up 6 places from his grid position. McCoy seems fit and strong and eagerly wants to get to Germany to get some more time on the bike.

Hopkins, who is vying for the Rookie of the Year Title against Kato and Riba had another stunning race today, after putting in a very frustrating opening lap. Hopper had a great start but the first lap cost him 4 places and he had a determined and focussed race to finish in 8th place. Hopper’s result today confirms his position as 10th on the World Championship table and sees him leap ahead of his fellow American and former 2000 World Champion, Kenny Roberts, whilst being only one point behind former 250 Champion, Olivier Jacque.

John Hopkins – 8th place – scoring 8 points today
World Championship Classification – 10th with 41 points

“I got off the line really well but then during the first few corners I made some mistakes and lost some places. I clawed my way back up through the pack and diced it up with Kato, Gibernau, Jacque and Roberts. All in all I’m happy with my result and I’m in the points again but I’m disappointed that I couldn’t have got a better result considering the great tyres we had.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Battered Bayliss does it again

When Troy Bayliss crashed down to earth after a massive highside in free practice on Saturday Colin Edwards must have thought he was on for a race win on Sunday. But the Australian kept calm, took a massage and came back to grab win number 14.

It was Texan Edwards who made the early running; he led from the start until lap 24. Then, when Edwards made a mistake on lap 24, Bayliss was there to pounce and took off for yet another race win. Despite his heavily bruised and battered body, Bayliss rocketed off to make the win all his.

“Colin rode so hard that my race plan wasn’t working. So I just tried to hang on and waited for him to make a mistake,” Bayliss said. Edwards made that error and gassed the bike just a little harder than his rear tyre could take coming out of turn five. Bayliss had been putting him under pressure prior to that, getting a wheel ahead two laps earlier only for Edwards to grab the lead straight back.

Looking carefully at the time sheets it’s clear that Bayliss is being a little modest, as usual. When Edwards did make his mistake Bayliss not only passed him but also put in a lap at 1:25.794 ­ at a time when everyone else on the track was riding in the mid-1:26 zone.

“We always knew that 28 laps was going to be hard on the tyres and it started taking its toll towards the end there,” said Edwards. The slide at turn six lost Edwards drive on the exit and Bayliss and eventual runner-up Ruben Xaus just slipped by.

“I just couldn’t ride any harder,” Edwards added. “I was doing everything I could while I was leading. Then when they got by I had no reply. We’ve got the machine set up as good as it could be but I’m just missing that grunt out of the corners.

“Race two will be different. I’ve never won at Laguna Seca and I’m getting pissed off with that – it’s going to be a win or crash approach to race two.”

Ruben Xaus managed to get his bike into the lead after Edwards’ mistake, but Bayliss was having none of it and rode by him a turn later. “Ruben was there to make things even more exciting,” commented Bayliss.

Neil Hodgson sat in third position for the first part of the race. But he was overhauled on lap nine by Nori Haga. The Japanese rider then went on to pass Bayliss, who was then back in second place, on the next lap. But when he tried to dive under Edwards going through turn two on lap 13 it proved a move too far. Haga slid off the track, remounted but then retired just a few laps later.

Hodgson got third back – but only for a few laps. Xaus got by him a few laps later and then, on lap 21, Hodgson succumbed to the incessant pressure wild card rider Nicky Hayden had been piling on. Hayden finished the race in a brilliant fourth. “I was happy with the race, Hodgson wasn’t holding me up. We were faster and slower in different places though. All I need is a little more drive grip,” said Hayden.

Eric Bostrom had a great race, beating his brother Ben Bostrom and Aaron Yates to finish sixth. His brother had to make do with eighth after suffering tyre trouble, with Yates making up the meat in the Bostrom sandwich in seventh. “I need to get a better first eight laps in race two,” admitted Eric Bostrom, “then I reckon I can be really strong in the last half of the race.”

World Superbike Race One Results:

1. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 28 laps
2. Ruben Xaus, Ducati, -0.339 second
3. Colin Edwards, Honda, -2.051 seconds
4. Nicky Hayden, Honda, -2.588 seconds
5. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, -4.104 seconds
6. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, -11.734 seconds
7. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, -17.661 seconds
8. Ben Bostrom, Ducati, -23.752 seconds
9. James Toseland, Ducati, -26.437 seconds
10. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, -30.199 seconds
11. Chris Walker, Kawasaki, -40.945 seconds
12. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati, -41.197 seconds
13. Doug Chandler, Ducati, -43.197 seconds
14. Steve Martin, Ducati, -56.675 seconds
15. Broc Parkes, Ducati, -67.030 seconds
16. Peter Goddard, Benelli, -74.270 seconds
17. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati, -74.624 seconds
18. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati, -79.892 seconds
19. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki, -83.757 seconds
20. Mark Heckles, Honda, -1 lap
21. Mark Miller Honda, -1 lap
22. Bertrand Stey, Honda, -1 lap
23. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki, -8 laps
24. Serafino Foti, Ducati, -11 laps
25. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, -14 laps, DNF, crash
26. Marco Borciani, Ducati, -19 laps

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Sunday Morning AMA Superstock Practice Times:

1. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:30.527
2. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:30.765
3. Jason DiSalvo, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.803
4. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.881
5. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.976
6. Brian Parriott, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.012
7. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:31.214
8. Craig Connell, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.427
9. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.468
10. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:31.753
11. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:31.792
12. Ty Howard, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.846
13. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.866
14. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.882
15. Christopher Rankin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.102
16. Robert Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.348
17. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.451
18. Brian Livengood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.817
19. John Dugan, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.941
20. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:32.949
21. Mike Ciccotto, Buell Firebolt XB9R, 1:33.161
22. Alan Schmidt, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.206
23. Michael Hannas, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:33.392
24. Giovanni Rojas, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.776
25. Owen Richey, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.094
26. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.132
27. Marco Martinez, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.784
28. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.894
29. Mark Ledesma, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:35.237
30. Scott Simpson, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:35.417

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

125cc Grand Prix Race Results:

1. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, 26 laps, 42:57.387
2. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, -0.193 second
3. Manuel Poggiali, Gilera, -0.699 second
4. Masao Azuma, Honda, -13.482 seconds
5. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, -13.643 seconds
6. Joan Olive, Honda, -14.073 seconds
7. Alex De Angelis, Aprilia, -15.650 seconds
8. Youichi Ui, Derbi, -18.608 seconds
9. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, -20.761 seconds
10. Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, -21.553 seconds

125cc GP World Championship Point Standings:

1. Poggiali, 147 points
2. Pedrosa, 131 points
3. Vincent, 128 points
4. Lucio Cecchinello, 91 points
5. Jenkner, 80 points

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Edwards prevails at last

Colin Edwards chose the WSB race meeting in his home country to finally break Troy Bayliss’ stranglehold on the series with a hard-fought win. The massive crowd of 98,000 was treated to perhaps the best WSB race of the season so far as Edwards, Bayliss and Neil Hodgson battled their way around the final laps in an epic struggle for victory.

In the end it came down to who could make the least mistakes in a wild war and that honor fell to Edwards who rode hard but kept his head for a great win. When Bayliss and Hodgson started to take bits out of each others’ fairings in the final two laps it gave Edwards the tiny bit of breathing space he needed and he made the most of it.

Early on it was another American who had the crowd standing up and whooping, Eric Bostrom did what no other rider has done for as long as anyone can remember, he put a four-cylinder bike in the lead of a World Superbike race. Eric Bostrom took the lead into the first corner and then shocked Edwards by making a break for it.

“I saw Eric getting away,” said Edwards, “and thought shit! This isn’t good!”

But Bostrom didn’t stay ahead for long, Edwards had promised before the race to do everything up to and including crashing in an attempt to win at Laguna Seca. He overhauled Eric Bostrom on lap four and then made his own breakaway. Bayliss quickly saw the danger and took off after Edwards, passing Bostrom on lap nine. Hodgson joined them and the three broke away from Bostrom late in the race to set the scene for the explosive finale. Eric Bostrom eventually finished fourth, one up on his brother Ben Bostrom.

In the end, with Edwards cashing in on the tremendous fight between Hodgson and Bayliss behind him it was a case of who made the fewest mistakes would get second. Both Hodgson and Bayliss made plenty ­ they slid both tires, touched curbs ­ and even ran over the dirt as they fought over the runner-up spot. Bayliss made the fewer mistakes and was rewarded with second.

“I made so many mistakes,” said Hodgson, “I was a little disappointed with my performance in the first race and was really determined to make amends in race two. I was a bit wild really, I was a little out of control and made a lot of mistakes ­ I’d pass someone then run wide and let them back through. I almost crashed a few times.”

Among those who did crash were Nicky Hayden and Nori Haga who tangled in turn 11 on lap 14. Hayden dived inside Haga to try to claim fifth but lost the front on the brakes. Haga had nowhere to go except up and over Hayden’s Honda and the pair took to the kitty litter together. Hayden remounted to finish 13th as Haga trudged back to the pits.

Ruben Xaus beat even his own worst record for crashing when his throttle jammed open at the Corkscrew on the warm-up lap. He crashed again before the end of the lap and started late ­ and a lap down – from the pit lane. He finished 19th.

While Edwards’ victory meant so much to him, it did little to dent Bayliss’ commanding lead. The Australian is now 53 points ahead of Edwards and looks assured of a second World Superbike championship with only four meetings left.

Next round: July 28 – Brands Hatch, GB

World Superbike Race Two Results:
1. Colin Edwards, Honda, 28 laps
2. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, -1.086 seconds
3. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, -1.672 seconds
4. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, -5.043 seconds
5. Ben Bostrom, Ducati, -11.843 seconds
6. James Toseland, Ducati, -25.747 seconds
7. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati, -26.572 seconds
8. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, -30.234 seconds
9. Chris Walker, Kawasaki, -47.673 seconds
10. Doug Chandler, Ducati, -39.344 seconds
11. Steve Martin, Ducati, -55.463 seconds
12. Broc Parkes, Ducati, -59.065 seconds
13. Nicky Hayden, Honda, -66.996 seconds
14. Peter Goddard, Benelli, -74.841 seconds
15. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki, -79.063 seconds
16. Serafino Foti, Ducati, -83.356 seconds
17. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati, -82.867 seconds
18. Marco Borciani, Ducati, -84.380 seconds
19. Ruben Xaus, Ducati, -1 lap
20. Mark Heckles, Honda, -1 lap
21. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki, -1 lap
22. Mark Miller, Honda, -1 lap
23. Bertrand Stey, Honda, -1 lap
24. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, -14 laps, DNF, mechanical
25. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, -15 laps, DNF, crash
26. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati, -25 laps, DNF, mechanical


World Superbike championship points after nine of 13 rounds:

1. Bayliss, 405
2. Edwards, 352
3. Hodgson, 221
4. Ben Bostrom, 184
5. Haga, 182
6. Xaus, 172
7. Toseland, 124
8. Walker, 108
9. Chili, 90
10. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki, 84.

Manufacturers points:

1. Ducati, 415
2. Honda, 357
3. Aprilia, 182
4. Kawasaki, 157
5. Suzuki, 101
6. Yamaha, 16
7. Benelli, 10