This Sunday sees the penultimate round take place at Vallelunga, near Rome in Italy and, with only two rounds to go and 41 points separating Haga from first place, this race is key to Yamaha’s fight for the championship. The previous round at Lausitz could well prove to be a corner stone in Haga’s title fight as he took a win and second place, cutting the gap between him and first place by 25 points. The impact of this result will only really be understood after this weekend’s race. Vallelunga is a new circuit on the WSB calendar but it won’t be totally new to all the riders following a testing session there in July. Built in 1959, the track was originally a sand mile oval but it has been upgraded over the years and is now set to host its first WSB race. The July test session gave the Yamaha Motor Italia team the chance to start the process of finding the right set-up and tyres for the circuit and both riders came away feeling positive about the track layout as well as knowing what settings worked best for the conditions. With a fast section at the start and a slower section at the end of the lap, the track is quite technical and will prove to be challenging for set-up this weekend. Following on from his success at Lausitz, Haga is fired up and determined as he pulls his leathers on this weekend. His last outing at Vallelunga was the two-day test in July where he was seventh fastest overall. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt closer to the championship title than I do now; everything is coming together and the bike is feeling the best it’s ever done. My focus for this weekend is to chip away at that points margin a bit more; it’s all about winning this weekend,” Haga says of the championship. “I liked the Vallelunga circuit when we tested there earlier this year. It’s challenging because of the combination of blind corners and twisty sections, but I like circuits like that. This circuit is new to virtually everyone and I think it will level out the playing field. I don’t under-estimate those behind me but my main focus this weekend is on the one place in front of me.” Corser’s last trip to Vallelunga proved successful, with him overall third fastest in testing just behind Xaus and Bayliss. After grabbing third and fifth at Lausitz three weeks ago, he is positive for even better results this weekend. “I went well in testing there even though I had a scary moment going into turn two at one point, which slowed me down a bit. I feel we’ve got something even better in the bike now than we had when we tested there, and I was third then. So, I’m pretty positive about it all! Tyres will be the main focus for me as we’ve got a fairly good base setting already,” Corser says. “The track layout is good and the undulations make it fun, although the track gets narrower in the second section, which will make for close racing. The idea will be to go fast from the start, get to the front and go; there’s not a lot of room for passing and when there is it’s on the brakes. It’s going to be an interesting race to watch as well as ride in!” World Supersport Championship Parkes couldn’t have asked for more from the last round of the World Supersport Championship at Lausitz. He took his second consecutive win of the season and boosted his championship standing up to third place, only 26 points behind second place. Team mate Tommy Hill also had a good weekend at the German circuit taking fifth. Hill, who is confirmed to ride for the Yamaha World Supersport team for the remainder of the season, made good headway through the pack after a poor start to successfully challenge fellow Yamaha riders Roccoli and Checa for the fifth position. Parkes has tested at Vallelunga already this season, participating in the same test session as the WSB team, when he took third overall. With 109 laps under his belt from the test he is confident of a good race this weekend. “We had a good test there earlier in the season although we had to work quite hard to get where we did. We’ve done our homework since, though and we’ve got a few different ideas which I’m sure will make sure we’re up there this weekend,” Parkes says. “It’s going to be a hard race because the track is really technical; there’s a bit of everything which makes it hard to get the bike set up for any one part of the circuit. What feels good at one point feels bad at another. But I’m really motivated after my two recent wins and I’m now determined to get as many points as possible in the last two races and grab second position in the championship.” This weekend will be Tommy Hill’s first viewing of the Roman track, let alone riding it. But this issue has not fazed the British Superbike rider so far; he hadn’t seen Lausitz prior to the first day’s qualifying and was fifth by the end of the weekend. Tommy’s main concern this weekend will be his right thumb, which he injured last weekend in the first race of the British Superbike Championship at Donington. He started the second race but was forced to retire due to the pain but he has made a good recovery since then. His first port of call at the circuit will be the Clinica Mobile for a check-up but the plucky young rider is still hopeful of a good ride. “It’s a shame that I wasn’t at the test with the team because it means I’m going to turn up at the circuit with no knowledge or experience of the track under my belt. I’ll be going in blind but then again I did the same at Lausitz and I got a good result there so there’s no reason why I can’t do it again. I just hope the weather is better than at Lausitz!” Hill says. “I’m looking forward to racing at Vallelunga, it should be enjoyable and hopefully I’ll get a good result and raise my profile on the world stage a bit more. This season has become quite a hectic one for me, combining racing in British Superbikes for the Virgin Media Optima Loans Yamaha Team with riding for the Yamaha World Supersport team, but it’s giving me some good practice at switching between the R6 and R1!” As of this weekend’s race Terrell Thien has been replaced as team manager of the Yamaha World Supersport Team by Wilco Zeelenberg. Wilco has been working for Yamaha Motor Europe, owner of the Yamaha World Supersport Team, for many years as Technical Coordinator, Road Racing. It is in this function that Wilco, an ex-GP250 and supersport race winner, has already been supporting the team’s activities this year, as well as other Yamaha teams and Yamaha’s road racing kit part program. In his new role Wilco will take over the full responsibility for the Yamaha World Supersport Team on behalf of Yamaha Motor Europe’s racing division led by Laurens Klein Koerkamp. Yamaha Team Italia rider Massimo Roccoli goes to Vallelunga on a high after being crowned the Italian Supersport Champion for the second year running. He won the championship at Misano with one round left to go and will now be more focused and confident than ever about improving his current fifth place in the World Supersport Championship standings. “My victory in this championship will allow me to concentrate totally on the world championship,” commented the rider from Rimini. “I’m in a fight for the fourth place in the championship and will give it everything, beginning by going well at Vallelunga, where everything points to a good result.” FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Lausitz proved fruitful for two of Yamahas Superstock riders. Didier Van Keymeulen achieved what he had been working towards; his first win of the season. It also gave Claudio Corti his tenth podium of the season with a third place finish following a good close battle for first. Corti’s team mate, Michele Pirro had less success, being forced to retire after suffering from gear lever problems. Matteo Baiocco also struggled at the last round, working against set-up issues to take eighth place and maintain his championship lead by nine points. He will be determined to increase his lead this weekend but, with one win under his belt, Van Keymeulen is sure to be challenging for the top step of the podium as well. Circuit Data Track length: 4110m Track opened: 1959 2006 WSB winners: NA (new circuit) 2006 WSB fastest lap: NA (new circuit) WSB lap record: NA (new circuit)