Scuderia SC Caracchi DRAMA FOR NANNELLI UNDER SILVERSTONE’s FLOOD (Silverstone 2007, May 27) Drama today at Silverstone for Team SC Caracchi. Under the frozen and continuous rain Gianluca Nannelli suffered a dramatic crash outing the Ireland corner, just before the fastest straight of the circuit. It was a normal crash, but the rider’s body get speed sliding on the wet grass and he hardly slipped under the airfence, probably not well fixed at muddy ground, and crashed badly against the hard rail. The injured rider has been immediately bring to the Circuit Medical Centre and, together with the Clinica Mobile medical staff assistance, they found a bad sprain of the left knee, with damage of ligaments too. After the first aid the rider has been moved to Northampton Hospital, where he had a surgery operation to recover the damaged organs and tomorrow will be probably discharged, with a tutor equipment at the damaged knee, to rejoin home. The physical recover will be, thanks the strong structure of the Italian rider, about two months long. The doctors however excluded at all the presence of any fracture at the injured leg. No lucky for Jakub Smrz in Superbike too. He crashed during the 18th lap in race-1 while he was fighting with a group that at the end finished in seventh position. Race-2, owing the atrocious weather conditions, has been cancelled for safety reasons. “It has been actually a bewitched day.” commented Jakub Smrz hearing the race-2 will be cancelled. “First the Gianluca’s accident, them my crash during the race, while I was fighting for a position between seventh and ninth position, a result that would be very important for the team. It’s a pity, I took a good start and I was hardly riding with Polita, Xaus, Neukirchner, and after a few laps Lanzi too, after a bad start. The first to crash has been Polita, then unfortunately, after we got some advantage to Neukirchner, has been mi time to crash, The bike lost grip at the rear, to get it suddenly, and I’ve been throw away for a classic highside. When we made the sighting lap for race-2 the track was actually in terrible conditions, I believe that to cancel the race has been very wise.: Superbike Race-1 (28 laps = 99,708 kms) Pl. Rider Nat. Bike Time/gap Average 1 BAYLISS Troy AUS Ducati 999 F07 46’02.875 at 129,919 kph 2 HAGA Noriyuki JPN Yamaha YZF R1 at 2.035 3 CORSER Troy AUS Yamaha YZF R1 at 4.568 4 ROLFO Roberto ITA Honda CBR 1000RR at 50.039 5 LACONI Regis FRA Kawasaki ZX 10R at 1’09.634 Championship standing: 1st TOSELAND James (Honda) 237 points; 2nd HAGA Noriyuki (Yamaha) 214; 3rd BIAGGI Massimiliano (Suzuki) 201; 4th BAYLISS Troy (Ducati) 189; 5th CORSER Troy (Yamaha) 151;…14th SMRZ Jakub (Ducati SC Caracchi) 44 More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra news 2007 Superbike World Championship Round 7, Silverstone, GB, Sunday, 27th May, 2007 Crowd: 55.000 (3-day). Circuit: 3.561 miles Conditions: Rainy 12C. MAX DEFIES PAIN AND RAIN TO TAKE SIXTH. Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi had to fight pain and atrocious conditions but still managed to take a gritty sixth place in the first WSBK race at Silverstone today. The pain happened as a result of a dramatic highside in the race. Max went up into the air, but somehow was able to land back on the bike. But as he did, his right leg hit the footpeg with such force that the peg was broken! He also hit the inside of his left leg on the fairing and was in discomfort for the rest of the race. In the event, that was Max’s only action for the day, as the second race was cancelled on safety grounds. The riders went out on their inspection lap for race two, but standing water and a risk of aquaplaning was enough for the start to be delayed. After a 30 minute delay, the organisers decided that conditions had not improved and so cancelled the race. It was not a good day for Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama. He crashed in the race and hurt his lower back in the process, forcing him to retire. The first race featured a three-way fight between Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and the Yamaha duo of Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser. Corser led the first part of the race, but once Bayliss got in front that was more or less it. Haga and Corser fought him all the way, but it was Bayliss who splashed his way to victory after 28 difficult laps. Haga took runner-up spot, with Corser third. MAX – Race 1: 6th, Race 2: Cancelled I think it was the right decision to cancel the second race because there was a lot of standing water on the track and the spray made it very hard to see where you were going. At the start of the first race I was behind Yukio and I could see he was having a lot of problems when he was on the gas . The bike kept going sideways – especially compared to the other riders. I nearly crashed myself and was lucky to get away with it. I highsided and the bike went one way and then the other. When I came back down on the bike, my right leg hit the footpeg with such force that it broke it. Today I brought the bike home and that is a big result for me. At the moment, I want to be able to race at the front, but we need to do more work on the bike and I hope we can improve it soon. YUKIO – Race 1 : DNF after 20 laps. Race 2: Cancelled That was a very disappointing day and to end it with no points and a very sore back is no good. Where is my luck? Today my bike felt strange and I had many slides. My crash was also not a normal one. Because the bike felt strange, I changed my style and tried to ride smoothly. I wanted to understand what was going on. I knew if I pushed hard I would crash, so I rode more slowly and then suddenly I was highsided! If I had been going fast, I would’ve understood, but I wasn’t. I hit the ground hard and injured my lower back and because it was so painful, I knew that I couldn’t keep going. And with the second race cancelled, it meant I didn’t score any points today, which makes me disappointed and a bit frustrated. Results Race 1: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 2 Haga (J-Yamaha), 3 Corser (Aus-Yamaha), 4 Rolfo (I-Honda), 5 Laconi (F-Kawasaki), 6 MAX BIAGGI (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 7 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 8 Toseland (GB-Honda), 9 Xaus (E-Ducati), 10 Neukirchner (D-Suzuki), YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF, Points: 1 Toseland 237, 2 Haga 214, 3 MAX BIAGGI (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 201, 4 Bayliss 189, 5 Corser 151, 6 Lanzi 116, 7 Xaus 113, 8 Rolfo 90, 9 Neukirchner 87, 10 Laconi 62, 11 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 60, More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Sunday May 27 2007 Raceday BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) TAKES ONLY SUPERBIKE WIN OF THE DAY AT SILVERSTONE – RACE 2 CANCELLED AFTER HEAVY RAIN Silverstone (UK), Sunday 27 May: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) took the only win of the day at a rain-lashed Silverstone circuit as appalling weather conditions caused the second race to be called off. This was the third time a Superbike race has been cancelled due to bad weather, following previous events at Phillip Island in 2001 and Imola in 2005. Troy battled throughout the 28-lap race with the Yamaha pair of Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser for his third win of the year, which enabled him to make up 17 points on leader James Toseland (Honda), who crashed but remounted to finish eighth. “Of course we’re very happy for our team, Xerox, Shell and all of our sponsors because the first race went really well today” declared Troy. “It’s a shame about the second one, it looked as if it was easing off a bit but the track’s got a lot of water in some of the corners, mud and everything. They pushed it off but the water keeps coming back and I’m sure there are going to be some disappointed people here today. We’re sorry for everybody but that’s racing sometimes. The first part had a lot of water and when you arrive at that chicane, it’s in fifth gear and you’re not in control when you arrive there aquaplaning. That’s just silliness! Anyway now we move on and we’re happy to have closed the gap down on James a little bit with the win. Also I’m disappointed because I feel very good and confident on the bike and it’s possible I could have taken another win, who knows? Because sometimes it’s days like this when the championship can turn around….” Lorenzo Lanzi started from the front row of the grid but got a bad start and was swamped by the field. The Italian recovered to finish seventh. “I got a bad start and at the first corner I made contact with someone. Five or six riders passed me and I couldn’t see a thing ahead of me. From the mid-point on I managed to recover from 16th to 7th place” said Lorenzo. “The track for race 2 was very difficult, not exactly as bad as Imola in 2005 but it wasn’t far off and the race direction made the right decision to cancel the race. It’s true that the track conditions improved immediately after, but if it had started to rain again it would have been the same after a few minutes. All the riders would have wanted to race, that’s what we’re here for, but the decision to call it off was also taken for our safety”. Race 1: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox); 2. Haga (Yamaha); 3. Corser; 4. Rolfo (Honda); 5. Laconi (Kawasaki); 6. Biaggi (Suzuki); 7. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox); 8. Toseland (Honda); 9. Xaus (Ducati); 10. Neukirchner (Suzuki). Race 2: Cancelled Points (after 7 of 13 rounds): Riders – 1. Toseland 237; 2. Haga 214; 3. Biaggi 201; 4. Bayliss 189; 5. Corser 151; 6. Lanzi 116; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 251; 2. Yamaha 237; 3. Ducati 234; 4. Suzuki 201; 5. Kawasaki 88. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: World Superbike Championship Round seven: Silverstone, UK Sunday 27 May 2007 Race report Rain stops play at Silverstone Wet weather played havoc with the racing at the seventh round of the 2007 World Superbike Championship at Silverstone today, with the second race of the day being cancelled. In spite of this, HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s James Toseland maintained his championship lead, while team-mate Roberto Rolfo continued his recent good form with another impressive performance. Race one took place in treacherously heavy rain that caused nine riders to crash out during the 28-lap contest. Just three laps in, Toseland parted with his CBR1000RR after losing the rear end at Priory corner. Despite spilling all the water from the bike’s engine and damaging the right handlebar, the British rider re-joined the race in last place and proceeded to battle his way through the pack. He put up a truly admirable fight to secure an eighth place finish, collecting an invaluable eight points towards his standings tally. Team-mate Rolfo – who is known for his strength in wet conditions – started the race from thirteenth on the grid and by lap three had already secured fourth position. The Italian rider maintained station for the remainder of the race with an impressive display of skilful wet weather riding. He picked up 13 points to climb to eighth place in the championship standings. Troy Bayliss, Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser took first, second and third places respectively. Following careful assessment of the track conditions, it was deemed too dangerous for race two to go ahead. The results of race one therefore determine the current standings, with Toseland in first and Rolfo in eighth position. Ronald ten Kate: “The weekend started positively for us but it’s ended on quite a low. James came here hoping to get the double, or at least good results for his home crowd. Instead of this he didn’t even get to race two races. I am behind the decision that has been made because in this sport, safety must come first and if safety is an issue then we have to stop. James crashed out early in the race, but as he picked up the bike everyone could see that the cooling water had come out and he rode the rest of the race with no coolant in the engine. The engine managed to last until the end, which is a success in itself. James managed to climb up the ladder to eighth place, which is even more admirable because he had a broken handlebar as well. “Roby was really on it in the first race. He had to come from quite a bit behind but he managed to get to the front. We had made some small changes to his bike for the second race in the hope of getting to the podium, so for him it is even more frustrating. Anyway, he has shown that he is a great wet weather rider. Now we are all looking forward to Misano and hopefully some good weather!” James Toseland: “I made a mistake in race one, but I was determined to re-mount the bike and claim as many points as possible. My handlebar was loose and I lost all the water from the engine because the water pipe came off. It was tough going but in the end I got eight crucial points and I still have the lead. Of course I am disappointed about race two – I am a racer and I was ready to race and get back the points lost in race one. However, I know that safety has to come first and I respect the decision of the organisers.” Roberto Rolfo: “I am very happy about the results of race one because I found a very good feeling on the bike. Unfortunately I lost a lot of time in the last ten laps and couldn’t quite catch the front runners to fight for the podium. Of course I am disappointed about the second race but this has happened and there is nothing we can do. In any case, it was not a bad result. I think we have done well – I have improved a lot on a difficult track so thanks to the team for that. I want to go to Misano and continue the standard of riding I found in Monza.” More, from a press release issued by FGSport: 2007 SBK CORONA EXTRA SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP® SILVERSTONE – 7th ROUND – 25th, 26th and 27th May RACE REPORT Silverstone, Sunday 27th May 2007 BAYLISS WINS BUT BRITISH WEATHER HAS THE LAST SAY REIGNING CHAMP OVERCOMES THE RAINS OF ENGLAND Heavy rains made for an unpredictable first race at Silverstone but at the time of its completion no one knew that race two would also have to be cancelled because of the atrocious weather. The only eventual race winner was also the Superpole winner, Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) who took a margin of victory over Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) of two seconds. Third on the podium was early leader, Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia), four seconds down after some great games of high risk between the leading trio in treacherous conditions. ROLFO FOURTH ONCE MORE BUT TOSELAND LOSES GROUND Roby Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) rode with great style and pace in the wet to score fourth position, but his team-mate James Toseland was not in such a happy condition, crashing on lap three and finishing an eventual eighth. Toseland’s recovery from the crash was remarkable in itself, as his throttle side handlebar had come loose, his engine lost all its cooling water immediately and he had rejoined the race down in 18th place. LACONI THE RAIN MASTER GOES FIFTH Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki) proved as adept in rain conditions as always, taking fifth place, albeit finishing far from the leading riders. It was his best result of the year. Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) went sixth, unhappy in the rain and experiencing a near high side so violent that he broke his footpeg with his leg when he landed back on his machine. The last rider not to be lapped by the flying Bayliss was his own team-mate, Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox), seventh. XAUS ANOTHER FALLER WHO RESTARTED TO SCORE POINTS Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Ducati) fell on lap 24, allowing Toseland through, but he restarted to finish ninth, one place up on Superpole faller from Saturday, Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany). Only 13 riders finished the race at Silverstone, not all of them on the same lap totals. Stand-in PSG-1 Kawasaki rider Vittorio Iannuzzo won the battle of the Italian privateers when he outpaced Luca Morelli (Honda DXF Corse) to secure 11th spot. The last finisher was a brave one, Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha YZF Team) who rode with injured toes from a previous crash. He was two laps down on Bayliss but scored points for his persistence in the shockingly wet conditions. TOSELAND STILL IN CHARGE BUT WITH REDUCED LEAD In the current championship chase Toseland is still leading, with 237 points, Haga is second on 214, while Biaggi is now on 201. Bayliss did himself a favour with his maximum points score, and now has 189 points. Corser is fifth, on 151. POS NO. RIDER COUNTRY BIKE TIME 1 21 Bayliss T. (AUS) Ducati 999 F07 46’02.875 (129,919 kph) 2 41 Haga N. (JPN) Yamaha YZF-R1 2.035 3 11 Corser T. (AUS) Yamaha YZF-R1 4.568 4 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 50.039 5 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’09.634 6 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K7 1’20.982 7 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 999 F07 1’33.061 8 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1 lap 9 111 Xaus R. (ESP) Ducati 999 F06 1 lap 10 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K6 1 lap WORLD SUPERSPORT – WEST TAKES MAIDEN WSS WIN Anthony West (Yamaha World SSP Racing) handled the poor conditions on raceday with great aplomb, scoring a fabulous win in only his second 2007 season WSS race, proving to be the clear victor by some 33 seconds from Robbin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports Honda). A red flag finally ended the race six laps early, when a fallen machine blocked the racing line. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda) was the final podium finisher after a mid-race tussle with two other riders, and problems with water ingress to his engine and helmet visor. Championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) fell on lap one and was ruled out of the points for the first time this year. In a race of attrition, several top riders also failed to finish, but Fabien Foret (GIL Kawasaki) was fourth, and he reduced the advantage of Sofuoglu to 45 points. Sofuoglu now has 145, Foret 100, Fujiwara 69 and Harms 59. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP – ROBERTS TAKES FIRST WIN The first win for Brendan Roberts (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) was the second for the 1098 Ducati, but the race itself – shortened to ten laps because of heavy rains – was of more importance for the championship fight. Sixth in the race, Matteo Baiocco (Umbria Bike Yamaha) lost his lead to second place Silverstone man Mark Aitchison (Celani Suzuki), who now has 78 points to Baiocco’s 70. Matej Smrz (MS Racing Honda) was third at Silverstone, while third in the championship, Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Xerox Junior Team), was only 13th in England. The Superstock 600 race at Silverstone, scheduled in after the Superbike race, was also cancelled. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: World Supersport and Superbike Championships 2007 Round 7. Silverstone Great Britain Silverstone Race Report 25 May – 27 May 2007 Attendance 50,000 all weekend Temperature: Air: 10°C Ground: 12°C Conditions: Fully wet. World Supersport Round 7 of 13 SOFUOGLU CRASHES OUT AS HARMS AND FUJIWARA SCORE PODIUMS On Saturday at Silverstone Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) had lost a thrilling battle for pole position to his team-mate Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) but on Sunday even worse fortune awaited in the race when he ran off the fully-wet track at turn one, fell, and was subsequently forced to retire. Despite his no score in England, the Turkish rider still has an impressive championship lead of 45 points over Fabien Foret, who was fourth in today’s race. Despite a high rate of attrition thanks to the terrible raceday weather, two Honda riders climbed the Silverstone podium in a race which was shortened from its original 28-lap distance to 22, after an early stoppage caused by a crashed machine lying on the wet racing line. Robbin Harms took second place on his Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR while Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) battled hard to finish third, having been third on lap one, then finding himself down as low as ninth on lap eight. Fujiwara is still third overall, now on 69 points, some 76 from Sofuoglu. Lorenzo Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) was lapped but still finished the race eighth overall, equalling his season best result. Having been only 21st in qualifying he was justifiably happy to have finished the race in the top ten. Charpentier could not complete the Silverstone race due to lack of confidence in such comprehensively wet conditions, and retired on lap eight. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Harm’s second place contributed to the fact that Honda now leads by an extended margin of 55 points. Sofuoglu was disappointed in his ultimate luck but knows his championship lead was not hurt too much by his first corner incident. “I have worked very hard this weekend and I was fast on Friday, Saturday and in the warm-up today,” said Kenan. “I had a great feeling on the bike in the warm up lap so I felt really positive on the grid and was thinking that I had a good chance to get on the podium or even win. But then it all went wrong on the first corner, I just lost the rear of the bike. I think the problem was that I went too fast in the warm up lap and my tyres warmed up and then cooled down while I was on the grid. Anyway, it would have been better to stay on the bike – but some things are not meant to be. I am still leading so I am happy.” Fujiwara’s aggression in wet conditions delivered him a superb and ultimately secure third, bringing his season back to life. “It was so cold and wet on the track today,” said the Japanese rider. “The situation was good at the start but during the first laps my visor fogged up and the spray started to get sucked into the engine. When I sorted out the problem with my visor I was able to lap fast again and I took a lot of other riders. The bike was very good, I made a good choice of tyre and suspension set-up, and we had a strong result for the championship.” Charpentier’s new pole record of 1’26.706, set on Saturday’s dry second session, was an astonishing two seconds better than his own previous circuit best, but the dry weather from practice failed to materialise on raceday, deciding all for the 2005 and 2006 champion. “The positive point about today is the good results we had during qualifying,” said the 2005 and 2006 champion. “This is really important for me because I think we have reached a good place with the bike, which I hope will stay on for the rest of the season. I want to be able to finish the championship in a good position and also help out my team-mate. I just had very bad luck again in the race after about eight laps I think everyone in the team preferred me to stop because I just had no feeling and no grip in the front and rear. The conditions were so bad on track. Anyway, I hope the next race is better.” Alfonsi’s mature ride put him into the top ten in the championship, with 34 points, and came thanks to changes in set-up to suit his wet condition. “I started today with a rain setup from Valencia but it was too rainy compared to then,” said Alfonsi. “During warm-up I changed the set-up and it was perfect. After half the race the bike was becoming too hard to flick from side to side fast so I just made sure I would get it home to take a good finish.” World Superbike Round 7 of 13 TOSELAND CRASHES BUT RECOVERS TO KEEP CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) kept his championship lead after a highly unpredictable Silverstone race weekend, despite only having one race to run and crashing on the treacherous track conditions, caused by persistent rain on raceday. In the only Superbike race of the day, run over 28 rain-affected laps, Roby Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) was the top Honda finisher, equalling his season best of fourth around the short International Silverstone layout. Toseland fell at Priory Corner on lap three, dropped to 18th, but fought his way back to eighth at the flag. His machine had lost all its cooling water in the crash and the right hand handlebar was loosened off, making his eventual finish in the top ten a testimony to the integrity of his CBR1000RR’s engine and his own determination to defend his championship lead at all costs. Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) and Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) each crashed on lap one, while Josh Brookes (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) was looking set for a top six finish until he too fell and had to retire from what was an exciting but unpredictable 28-lap contest, which had only 13 finishers from 21 starters. Luca Morelli (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) kept going in the rain to finish 12t after his debut DFX Honda ride at Silverstone. After qualifying third fastest in Superpole, Toseland had started well and after his astonishing fightback on a damaged bike, he now leads the championship by 23 points from second place Silverstone rider Noriyuki Haga. Max Biaggi is still overall third, on 201. Silverstone race winner Troy Bayliss is fourth, on 189. In the manufacturers’ Championship, Honda now leads by 14 points. Toseland, who was out to take his first ever career double win in Superbike, knows that the points lead he continues to have is the main thing to take from the Silverstone weekend. He, like many other riders, wished to continue but the extreme rains that hit Silverstone shortly before the start of race two, added to the non-stop shower which had been falling all day, was enough for Race Direction to call the event to a halt at 1600hrs. “I made a mistake in race one, but I was determined to re-mount the bike and claim as many points as possible,” said the English rider, WSB champion in 2004. “My handlebar was loose and I lost all the water from the engine because the water pipe came off in the crash. It was tough going but in the end I got eight crucial points and I still have the lead. Of course I am disappointed about race two I am a racer and I was ready to race and get back the points lost in race one. However, I know that safety has to come first and I respect the decision of the organisers.” Rolfo, 13th in Superpole, was back to full pace once more, and is now eighth overall, on 90 points. “I am very happy about the results of race one because I found a very good feeling on the bike,” said Rolfo. “Unfortunately I lost a lot of time in the last ten laps and couldn’t quite catch the front runners to fight for the podium. Of course I am disappointed about the second race but this has happened and there is nothing we can do. In any case, it was not a bad result. I think we have done well I have improved a lot on a difficult track so thanks to the team for that. I want to go to Misano and continue the standard of riding I found in Monza.” Fabrizio was the first rider to go down on the slick Silverstone surface, and because of this he is now 12th in the standings. He was 15th on the grid, after a tough Superpole. “I fell when braking, all on my own,” said Fabrizio. “As soon as I closed the throttle and hit the brake the back felt like it pushed a bit and I fell right away.” Muggeridge – who was ninth in Superpole – was unlucky to fall after coming together with his team-mate, Josh Brookes, and doubly frustrated not to get a second race to make amends. “I wanted to get a second race in today and it was a shame to collide with Josh on the first lap after we got closed in,” said the 2003 World Supersport Champion for Honda. “There are others who have had bad weekends like me, so if we consider just this weekend on its own then we can move on from here.” For Brookes, a possible top six dissolved in the rain, as he fell – ironically – while trying to avoid a bigger crash. He had been tenth in Superpole, but after scoring no points today, he is still 15th, one place up on Muggeridge. “I went into the first couple of bends a little fast and ran a bit wide, so I wasn’t coping with the amount of water on the track that well,” said Brookes, who rode confidently and effectively in the wet until his crash. “I was trying to catch Laconi and I realised I was going to go wide so I stood the bike up. It hit the corner of the ripple strip at an angle and that flicked the back out. A crash was inevitable but it sucks to have been in good condition, be comfortable, and then lose sixth place. I wasn’t riding desperately but I still fell off by getting caught out.” For Morelli his first weekend in DFX Corse Honda colours was a success, and he fought well to take his four points and go 21st overall. “I have to be very happy with that,” said 19-year-old Morelli. “That was my first race at Silverstone, my first with full wet tyres and my first for Honda. So to finish and get points make me very happy. The bike was good and the team also.” Round eight, for both WSS and WSB classes, will be held between 15th and 17 June, at the new-look Misano circuit in Italy, which is now run in reverse direction from previous seasons. Results SUPERSPORT: RACE : (Laps 22 = 78,342 Km) Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time /Gap 1 / A. WEST / AUS / Yamaha World SSP Racing / 39’16.245 / 2 / R.HARMS / DEN / Stiggy Motorsport Honda / 39’49.722 / 33.477 3 / K. FUJIWARA / JPN / Althea Honda Team / 40’04.302 / 48.057 4 / F. FORET / FRA / Team Gil Motor Sport / 40’08.022 / 51.777 5 / G.VIZZIELLO / ITA / RG Team / 40’10.540 / 54.295 6 / M.LAGRIVE / FRA / Intermoto Czech / 40’17.824 / 1’01.579 7 / J. FORES / ESP / HP Racing / 40’53.821 / 1’37.576 8 / L. ALFONSI / ITA / Althea Honda Team / 41’08.351 / 1’52.106 9 / J. ENJOLRAS / FRA / Tati Team Beaujolais Racing / 41’09.429 / 1’53.184 10 / B. VENEMAN / NED / Pioneer Hoegee Suzuki Racing / 39’16.868 / 1 Lap 11 / M.PRAIA / POR / Racing Team Parkalgar / 39’26.330 / 1 Lap 12 / S. GIMBERT / FRA / Yamaha – GMT 94 / 39’36.066 / 1 Lap 13 / J. GÃœNTHER / GER / CRS Grand Prix / 39’49.023 / 1 Lap 14 / G.LEBLANC / FRA / Vazy Racing Team / 40’44.006 / 1 Lap 15 / J. LASCORZ / ESP / Glaner Motocard.com / 40’51.121 / 1 Lap Fastest Lap 6° Anthony West 1’44.188 123,043 Km/h Lap record: 2006 2005 S.Charpentier 1’29.027 144,000 Km/h Best Lap: 2007 S.Charpentier 1’26.706 147,850 Km/h Riders Championship Standings: 1 SOFUOGLU 145, 2 FORET 100, 3 FUJIWARA 69, 4 HARMS 59, 5 VENEMAN 47, 6 NANNELLI 43, 7 WEST 41, 8 PITT 40, 9 SALOM 34, 10 ALFONSI 34, 11 ROCCOLI 33, 12 RIBA 30, 13 PARKES 27, 14 CURTAIN 25, 15 JONES 25. SUPERBIKE Race 1 : (Laps 22 = 78,342 Km) Pos / Rider / Nat. / Team / Time / Gap 1 / T. BAYLISS / AUS / Ducati Xerox Team / 46’02.875 / 2 / N.HAGA / JPN / Yamaha Motor Italia / 46’04.910 / 2.035 3 / T. CORSER / AUS / Yamaha Motor Italia / 46’07.443 / 4.568 4 / R. ROLFO / ITA / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 46’52.914 / 50.039 5 / R. LACONI / FRA / Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse / 47’12.509 / 1’09.634 6 / M.BIAGGI / ITA / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 47’23.857 / 1’20.982 7 / L. LANZI / ITA / Ducati Xerox Team / 47’35.936 / 1’33.061 8 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 46’06.015 / 1 Lap 9 / R. XAUS / ESP / Team Sterilgarda / 46’15.898 / 1 Lap 10 / M.NEUKIRCHNER / GER / Suzuki Germany / 46’20.019 / 1 Lap 11 / V. IANNUZZO / ITA / Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse / 46’34.206 / 1 Lap 12 / L. MORELLI / ITA / D.F.X. Corse / 46’34.786 / 1 Lap 13 / S. NAKATOMI / JPN / Yamaha YZF / 46’40.240 / 2 Laps Fastest Lap 27° Noriyuki Haga 1’37.005 132,154 Km/h Race 2: Cancelled due to weather conditions Riders Championship Standings: 1 TOSELAND 237, 2 HAGA 214, 3 BIAGGI 201, 4 BAYLISS 189, 5 CORSER 151, 6 LANZI 116, 7 XAUS 113, 8 ROLFO 90, 9 NEUKIRCHNER 87, 10 LACONI 62, 11 KAGAYAMA 60, 12 FABRIZIO 59, 13 NIETO 46, 14 SMRZ 44, 15 BROOKES 40. More, from a press release issued by event organizers: 2007 Suzuki GSX-R European Cup Round 4, Silverstone, GB Circuit: 3.561 miles. Crowd: 55,000 (3-day) Conditions: Wet EMERIC JONCHIERE WINS IN RAIN-SODDEN SILVERSTONE. Frenchman Emeric Jonchiere mastered appalling conditions in the third round of the Suzuki GSX-R European Cup at Silverstone today. The race had been cut from 12 laps to 10 because of the very wet conditions and there was a big surprise when series leader, and pole sitter, Dominic Lammert crashed out before completing a lap. Italian Simone Saltarelli led the opening two laps chased by Swiss rider Patric Muff and Jonchiere. Jonchiere took the lead on lap 5 and from then on in he was never headed on his way to victory. At the end, he finished over three seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Muff. Third went to Hungarian Gabor Rizmayer, with Raphael Chevre fourth, Pete Ward fifth and Lee Hodge sixth. Emeric Jonchiere – 1st Conditions out there were very difficult today and the track was very slippery, so I am very happy to take the win. When you were behind another rider there was a lot of spray and not easy to see where you were going a lot of the time. It was a shock to see Lammert go out so early, but today it was so easy to crash I am not too surprised. It was hard keeping concentration because of the conditions, but I was determined not to do anything silly. I wanted to get the bike back in one piece – and that’s what I did.