2007 SBK CORONA EXTRA SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP® LOSAIL 1st ROUND 22nd, 23rd and 24th FEBRUARY RACE REPORT Losail Saturday 24th February 2007 BIAGGI AND TOSELAND LIGHT UP THE SEASON OPENER – POINTS TIE FOR SUZUKI AND HONDA RIDERS AFTER ROUND ONE Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) and James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) powered to a win and second place apiece at Losail, after two terrific 18-lap contests under the hot Qatari sun. In a surprising raceday development 2006 World Champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) was only fifth and eighth,not recovering from a disappointing qualifying session and Superpole contest on Friday. RACE ONE Biaggi’s astonishing victory was an impressive induction into World Superbike, winning at the first attempt and only finding one rider, second place man James Toseland, able to push him and his overall race package right to the end. Third placed Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) was some 13 seconds down, with the second Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra machine of Yukio Kagayama fourth. RACE TWO Toseland did not have to wait long for the dream first weekend start he desired, scoring the race two victory after a front-running performance in near flawless style. Biaggi closed in on the final laps, but Toseland held on to score the win and thus 45 points in total, sharing the championship lead with Biaggi – although Toseland is shown on top of the standings because his race win came most recently. In third place, Superpole winner Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) did not have any repetition of the tyre fitment trouble he had in race one (when he was ninth) and finished third on his R1, some seven seconds from Toseland. LANZI OVERALL FOURTH AFTER PODIUM SCORE Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) added a seventh to his race one podium finish and ended the day third in the standings with 25 points, one place up on Corser. Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) did not get the starts he hoped for and thus went fourth and sixth, to leave him on 23 points, equal with Corser, who is ahead by dint of his better second race finish. HAGA DISAPPOINTED BUT ON THE EARLY PACE EACH TIME Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) suffered front end problems in race one, ending up eighth, but only slowly faded in race two, securing a top six in the table, with 21 points. Kawasaki’s top rider on the day was Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) who no-scored in race one after a collision with his team-mate Regis Laconi, but recovered his poise to hold onto a hard-won fifth place in race two, keeping him inside the top ten overall. NEUKIRCHNER ROCKS THE WORLD IN RACE ONE Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) continued strongly after qualifying to record a sixth place finish in race one, and follow it up with a top ten in race two to leave Qatar ahead of riders on ostensibly better machinery. Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Ducati) was tenth and ninth and is two points ahead of Nieto overall. ROLFO LUCKY SEVEN THEN UNLUCKY IN RACE TWO Roby Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) secured a mature seventh in race one in his first Honda SBK ride, but retired in race two, with clutch problems. Steve Martin (DFX Corse Honda) was 17th in practice yet 12th in race one, but suspension changes mid-race stopped him from performing the feat in the second race, when he no-scored in 18th. Alto Evolution Honda riders Josh Brookes and Karl Muggeridge no-scored in race one, but each finished in the points in race two, with Brookes 13th and Muggeridge 14th after a personal on-track duel. Jakub Smrz (Team Caracchi Ducati SC) scored two points in race one, and Dean Ellison (Pedercini Ducati) got off the mark in the opener, with a point for 15th. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP A crash while leading dropped 2005 and 2006 World Supersport Champion Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) out of the points entirely, and allowed his closely following team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) to secure the first WSS race win of 2007. Riding a new Honda this season, Sofuoglu was some 3.4 seconds up on second place rider, and pole man, Kevin Curtain (Yamaha SSP Racing). A good start from the leading three riders meant that third place man Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda) was too far back to make any real impression on the podium, until Charpentier fell and pushed the Japanese up to third. It was nonetheless a good weekend in general for Fujiwara and his team. Fabien Foret and Pere Riba (both GIL Kawasaki) raced to the line to battle for fourth place, with the Frenchman, who had survived a brake induced crash in the morning warm-up largely unscathed, just beating Riba in a near photo finish. The top Ducati was that of Gianluca Nannelli (Caracchi Ducati SC) in eighth place, with Barry Veneman (Hoegee Suzuki) the top 600 Suzuki rider in ninth place. Only 24 riders finished, from 36 starters. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: World Supersport Championship Round one: Losail International Circuit Saturday 24 February Race report Victory for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda in season opener HANNspree Ten Kate Honda dominated the season opener of the World Supersport Championship at Losail International Circuit in Qatar today with Kenan Sofuoglu storming to victory on the new CBR600RR. The young Turkish rider fought a fierce battle for the race win. However, team-mate and defending champion Sébastien Charpentier saw his hopes dashed when he crashed out on the penultimate lap while leading the pack. The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders were involved in a three-way fight for first place with Kevin Curtain from the outset. However, Sofuoglu stole the lead on lap seven and proceeded to open up an advantage over the Australian. Charpentier was never far behind and by lap nine was swapping places with Curtain for second position. On lap ten Charpentier once again seized the advantage and made it stick. For the next six laps the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda duo put in an impressive display of inch-perfect riding to dominate the fiercely competitive 18-lap race. On lap 16, Frenchman Charpentier grasped an opportunity to pass team-mate Sofuoglu. However, the lead was short-lived as he made an unfortunate mistake halfway round the 5.4km circuit on a left hand hairpin and slid into the gravel after losing the front end of the Honda. Charpentier’s season opener came to a premature end when he was forced to retire from the race after being unable to restart the bike. This opened the way for rising star Sofuoglu to pass the chequered flag almost 3.5 seconds clear of second place contender Kevin Curtain and more than six seconds in front of third place Katsuaki Fujiwara. The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team head to the next round in Phillip Island with the championship lead on 25 points. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “Of course I am really happy with Kenan’s result today. He rode very maturely and gave us the result we were hoping for with the new Honda a win in the first race. My feelings are obviously a bit mixed because we could have challenged for first and second places. Both riders put up a good fight out there. It was a tough race and they both wanted to win the first one. Unfortunately Sébastien lost the front so he was out in the gravel. He couldn’t pick up the bike again because there was quite a bit of damage. Instead of being down though we are feeling happy because we have shown the potential of the new bike and we have plenty of races ahead to develop the CBR600RR even further. I am amazed to come away with a win at the first round and I’d like to thank the riders, the tuners and the whole HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team.” Sébastien Charpentier: “I am obviously very disappointed with the outcome of this race. I was so close to the finish and I think we could have easily got a first and second for the team, but I lost the front end and couldn’t recover from it. This has happened now, so I just need to look forward to the next round. It is only the first race and we have plenty of time to make it up.” Kenan Sofuoglu: “I am really happy. I said yesterday that I wasn’t happy with the times in qualifying but I didn’t worry because I knew I could be better for the race. After three or four laps I knew I could challenge Curtain and Sébastien. Then when Sébastien crashed I just had to keep my place to take first position. I am really pleased with the result and would like to thank HANNspree Ten Kate Honda for developing the bike. Also a special thanks to my mechanics who have worked so hard to bring the bike to this level. It’s a new season, a new bike, a new sponsor and I couldn’t be happier.” More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: POSITIVE RESULT FOR SCUDERIA SC CARACCHI IN QATAR (Doha 2007, February 24) The Scuderia SC Caracchi were reasonably confident before today’s race on Doha-Losail circuit in Qatar. At the end of the day the results must be read as quite positive, as well some disappointing remained to Gianluca Nannelli, that ended in 8th position the Supersport race, run under a higher temperature as in the practice days which gave some problem, as happened in Superbike too, to the bike handling. “The 8th position isn’t a bad result, looking for future of the championship.” commented a disappointed Nannelli at the end “But I was confident to finish in a better position after the practice days. On the contrary the hot temperature got bad the Ducati’s handling, it happened to the 999s too, and I’ve been forced to stay on the defensive, instead to be a fighter to get positions. I had a good start, but at the first corner they closed my line and at the first split i was 7th with a 2,5 seconds delay, that increased to 3″at the first passage under the finish line. At that moment the leaders were far away and they could ride without troubles, while in our group every corner was a fight and we lost a lot of time. At the end I tried to resist to Roccoli’s attack, but the bike lost the line and he has been able to pass. I repeat, I’m disappointend because I was waiting something more, but the 8th place at the first race is not to despise.” Jakub Smrz got his first world Superbike points in race-1, after recovering several position; in race-2 the Czech rider made a very good race, recovering positions and positions, but the delay at the start forced him only to finish close to the points, missed just for 0,2 seconds. “Well, I’m quite satisfied for my race today.” confirmed Jakub Smrz at the end of the day. “At the end of race-1 I earned points recovering some position, but I’m sure I made my best during race-2. At the start I remained behind because a jump start in front of me caused some confusion, but then I got a good pace and I catch and pass Martin and Nakatomi, the just two laps to go Polita was still 2,4 seconds before me, I earned a second during the penultimate lap and at the end I had him just in front of me and I miss the points just for 0,2 seconds; moreover the gap from the winner is really smaller as the race-1 one, despite race-2 has been faster. Now in Australia I’m confident to do better.” More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra: 2007 Superbike World Championship Round 1, Losail, Qatar Saturday 24th February Circuit: 5.380 kms. Conditions: Dry, sunny 25-26 C. MAX WINS AT THE FIRST ATTEMPT! Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi stunned everybody by winning the opening round of the Superbike World Champion ship in Qatar today. After a tremendous battle with James Toseland (Honda), Max took the lead with five laps to go and then superbly controlled the race from the front. In the end he ran out the winner by nearly one and a half seconds. Toseland took runner-up spot, with Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) third. By the time Max returned to the parc fermé, his emotions had got the better of him, but by the time he sprang up onto the podium, he had a huge smile on his face. His team mate Yukio Kagayama had front tyre problems in the race, but managed to finish a gritty fourth. Race two was another terrific battle between Max and Toseland, but this time Toseland emerged the victor, though if the race had lasted a further three or four laps, it might have been a different story. Troy Corser took third, with Yukio down the field in sixth – thanks to tyre problems again, though this time it was the rear. Overall though, it was a fantastic start to the season for Alstare’s new rider – Max Biaggi. A win in his first ever World Superbike race and a second in race two means that he leaves Qatar as joint championship leader and goes to the next round at Phillip Island full of confidence. MAX Race 1: 1st, Race 2: 2nd What a fantastic start to my new (Superbike) experience. To begin with a win is wonderful and I dedicate it to our Team Boss, Francis Batta, who couldn’t be here with us today. I’m sure he watched it on TV and it must have made him wish he was here. This championship is tough and for sure there are a lot of good riders, so I don’t think it’s always going to be like this. I want to thank my team for all their hard work and support over the past few months, which has made all this possible. This racing is fun! I wished I had discovered this championship years ago. In the second race, I was catching James (Toseland) and I think I could’ve caught him if there had been three or four more laps. We made a small adjustment to the bike for the second race and maybe it wasn’t the right thing, but we still nearly managed to win it! Now we are off to one of my favourite tracks, Phillip Island. I’m looking forward to it and having more fun. YUKIO Race 1: 4th, Race 2: 6th I am very frustrated today, because I expected to do much better. But I had tyre problems in both races and I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted. In race one the problem was the front tyre and after five laps, I didn’t have a good feeling, but I kept up quite a good pace. We changed the chassis set-up a little for the second race, but this time the problem was at the rear! I suppose, the good news is that I didn’t crash and I managed to score some good points. Results Race 1: 1 MAX BIAGGI (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 Toseland (GB-Honda), 3 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 4 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 5 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 6 Neukirchner (D-Suzuki), 7 Rolfo (I-Honda), 8 Haga (J-Yamaha), 9 Corser (Aus-Yamaha), 10 Xaus (E-Ducati), Race 2: 1 Toseland, 2 MAX BIAGGI (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 3 Corser, 4 Haga, 5 Nieto (E-Kawasaki), 6 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 7 Lanzi, 8 Bayliss, 9 Xaus, 10 Neukirchner Points: 1 Toseland, MAX BIAGGI (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 45, 3 Lanzi 25, 4 Corser 23, 5 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 23, 6 Haga 21, 7 Bayliss 19, 8 Neukirchner 16, 9 Xaus 13, 10 Nieto 11, More, from another press release from HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: World Superbike Championship Round one: Losail International Circuit Saturday 24 February 2007 Race report Toseland secures race win in double podium opener HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider James Toseland leaves the opening round of the 2007 World Superbike Championship at the top of the standings on equal points with Max Biaggi. British contender Toseland finished in second and first positions respectively at the championship’s first event in Qatar today to secure 45 points and the joint lead in the series. Race one at the 5.4km Losail International Circuit saw the 25-year-old pull away from the chasing pack in the early stages before entering a nail-biting battle for victory with experienced Italian rider Biaggi. The youngest-ever World Superbike Champion and former MotoGP rider swapped places more than half a dozen times in an exhilarating cat and mouse chase. Toseland held fast until lap 13 when Biaggi slipped past to push him into second place on the podium. Race two was a different story for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Toseland as he settled into the lead from the first lap and refused to let go of the advantage. He led the second 18-lap race from start to finish for a convincing and comfortable win. At one stage Toseland had even extended his lead over race one winner Max Biaggi to 2.1 seconds. Biaggi closed in on the final two laps, but Toseland maintained station and crossed the line more than half a second ahead of his rival. Team-mate Roberto Rolfo began his race debut with HANNspree Ten Kate Honda in fine form, showing that he is more than comfortable with the CBR1000RR. He improved his pace throughout race one to fight his way up from tenth place on the grid. The reward for his efforts was a seventh place finish. Race two proved more difficult for the young Italian when a problem with the clutch forced him to retire from the race early on. However, Rolfo heads to Phillip Island just two points outside of the top ten in the championship standings. Ronald ten Kate: “I am of course a happy man. James has been strong all weekend, but in this morning’s warm up the bike wasn’t performing well so we weren’t feeling too confident before the race. Luckily everything settled down and James had a great race one together with newcomer Max Biaggi it was good to see them in a battle. For the second race we managed to adjust the bike for James so that he was able to win and he did it in great style. I am happy, but let’s see where we can go from here. Roby had a great first race, especially in the second half. Seventh was a good result for a debut race. In the second race the aim was to start harder and go a lot faster in the beginning but unfortunately we burned the clutch. I am very sorry for Roby but I’m sure that he will bring home more points for the team during the rest of the season.” James Toseland: “I have had a great weekend. I was quickest on Friday morning and in the top three in all sessions. My lowest position was sixth and that was in the warm up this morning. I was quite disappointed with the first race, but in the second race we set the pace and got to the front. The last two laps were difficult but we made it and got first place. This is my seventh year in World Superbikes and I am fitter than ever. Thanks to Honda, the Ten Kate team and to HANNspree it is all working out really well so far. We deserve to be at the front after a winter of hard work and to get there in the first race is brilliant.” Roberto Rolfo: “Every rider is disappointed when they have a problem that is outside of their control. However, putting that aside it’s been a fantastic experience to be part of such a professional team for the first event of the 2007 championship. I have learned a lot about the bike and the way I need to ride it. I still have a heavy feeling at the front of the bike, particularly at the beginning of the race, but once I overcome this with my riding I will be very happy.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: LANZI’S PODIUM IN RACE 1 SAVES THE DAY FOR DUCATI XEROX TEAM IN QATAR Losail (Qatar), Saturday 24 February: It was a difficult start to the year for the Ducati Xerox Team at the Losail circuit in Qatar. In the opening round of the 2007 World Superbike Championship, Troy Bayliss and Lorenzo Lanzi could only manage one podium between them in the two races as Max Biaggi (Suzuki), making his Superbike debut, and James Toseland (Honda) took the first two wins of the year. Lorenzo clinched the final podium place in race 1 with a superb pass on Kagayama on the penultimate lap, and finished seventh in the second race, while Troy took a fifth and seventh. “We knew that this weekend was going to be difficult for us but it turned out to be tougher than expected” declared Troy. “All weekend I’d been doing quite well on the race tyre so I was feeling quite confident, and was quite happy with the way race 1 went. I could have done a lot better but I would have had to put my life on the line so I settled for points. In the second race we thought we couldn’t do any worse and tried something different, we put the hardest tyre in the front which we used last year and we made a change to the rear suspension. The biggest problem we had was at the rear however because we had no feeling at all. It’s a long year ahead, it wasn’t a good start but that’s racing! For sure I’ll feel much more confident at Phillip Island, where the track is normally pretty constant and I’m looking forward to that.” “In race 1 I succeeded in scoring a great podium finish” commented Lorenzo. “It was a good, hard-fought result because in the last few laps I had a great battle with Kagayama. For race 2 we changed the suspension a bit and my 999 worked a lot better. Unfortunately I got off to a bad start, which lost me a lot of time in the early laps. I am sure I could have finished fourth quite easily had the tyre not started to turn on the rim half-way through the race which created some ‘chattering’ problems. Now that the Qatar race is over, we look forward immediately to Phillip Island, where we should go better.” RACE 1: 1. Biaggi (Suzuki); 2. Toseland (Honda); 3. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox); 4. Kagayama (Suzuki); 5. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox); 6. Neukirchner (Suzuki); 7. Rolfo (Honda); 8. Haga (Yamaha). RACE 2: 1. Toseland; 2. Biaggi; 3. Corser (Yamaha); 4. Haga; 5. Nieto (Kawasaki); 6. Kagayama; 7. Lanzi; 8. Bayliss. POINTS (after 1 of 13 rounds): 1. Toseland & Biaggi 45; 3. Lanzi 25; 4. Corser & Kagayama 23; 6. Haga 21; 7. Bayliss 19; 8. Neukirchner 16. Manufacturers: 1. Honda & Suzuki 45; 3. Ducati 25; 4. Yamaha 24; 5. Kawasaki 11. More, from a press release issued by Team YZF Yamaha: First points for Nakatomi Max Biaggi (Suzuki) wins his first ever World Superbike race and James Toseland (Honda) is the winner of the second event. They are now both leading the championship with the same amount of points. Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha), 12th and 17th, earns his first points of the 2007 season. In the beginning of the first race, there is a nice fight between Troy Corser (Yamaha), Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha), James Toseland (Honda) and Max Biaggi (Suzuki). Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha) is in 15th position. Then Toseland and Biaggi dice for the lead and finally the Italian wins in front of the British and Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati). Nakatomi finishes 12th and earns his first points of the year. Again, Toseland, Haga, Corser and Biaggi take the lead in race 2. Nakatomi is 15th. At half-distance, Toseland has a 2 second lead over Corser, Haga and Biaggi. This time, Toseland is the winner in front of Biaggi. Shinichi Nakatomi finishes in 17th position. Team-manager Martial Garcia: “In the first race, the front tyre did not last the distance, like for several other riders. Before race 2, we made the front end lighter, but then it was the rear tyre which had a problem of balance and was turning on the rim. We are satisfied with the points we earned, considering that we started late this winter and the Qatar race was mostly a test session for us.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: World Supersport and Superbike Championships 2007 Round 1, Losail Qatar Temperature – air 26°C – ground 47°C 22 24 February 2007 World Supersport Round 1 of 13 SOFUOGLU WINS FIRST TIME OUT ON NEW HONDA CBR600RR After a dramatic penultimate lap at the 5.380km Losail circuit in Qatar Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) took his all-new machine to the first race win of the 13-round World Supersport season, after his team-mate Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) fell while leading. The only consolation for Charpentier was a new lap record, 2m 02.949s, set on lap three. The two top Honda riders on the day were locked in a battle for the win, but Charpentier pushed too hard when going wide into a left hand corner and he was unable to restart after the subsequent lowside crash. Each rider had qualified on the front row, with Charpentier close to pole man, and eventual second place rider, Kevin Curtain, and Sofuoglu fourth on the grid. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) had a successful start to his season, third on the grid and in the race, but setting comparable lap times with the leaders once he got over the hectic first few laps. Lorenzo Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) made a strong debut for a rookie in his team and at this circuit, taking points for a 13th place finish, after going 20th in qualifying. Sofuoglu expected a fight with his team-mate right to the end, but it was not to be, as he ended up running alone for the last lap, finishing some 3.4 seconds ahead of Curtain. “I knew I could be challenging for the podium,” said Sofuoglu, who is no stranger to wins in WSS. “Kevin went away in front very fast but after only three or four laps I knew I could increase my speed and make an attack. I could ride at a high pace consistently, as could Sebastien, and for sure if he did not crash we would have fought for the win. I am really happy because last year Sebastian was better than me but I think this year we are more like the same.” Charpentier was naturally unhappy with his final misfortune in Losail. “I am obviously very disappointed with the outcome of this race,” said a despondent double World Champion. “I was so close to the finish and I think we could have easily got a first and second for the team, but I lost the front end and couldn’t recover from it. This has happened now, so I just need to look forward to the next round. It is only the first race and we have plenty of time to make it up.” Front row starter Fujiwara could not capitalise on his strong qualifying performances on the first lap at least, yet he knew his final race weekend would be a good one after setting the fastest time on day one. “This was a better performance than we could have hoped for when we came to Qatar,” said Fujiwara. “Today our final position as good but if we could start well, and get away with the top group, there was a possibility to win today. We didn’t test here, had a new bike, new suspension everything new, and yet we got on the podium.” Alfonsi’s weekend ended up with him 13th in the race, after finishing 20th in qualifying for his new squad on the new CBR600RR. “Not bad because this was the first time for me in Qatar,” said the Italian rider. “It is a difficult track, fast corners and one little mistake means your lap time is a second slower. My new team is fantastic and I hope for even better race results soon.” The second round of the Supersport championship takes place at Phillip Island, Australia, next week, with race day on Sunday March 4. World Superbike Round 1 of 13 TOSELAND LEAVES LOSAIL WITH CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD AFTER RACE TWO WIN James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) made a near perfect start to his championship campaign in 2007 with a second place and a win, after making two good starts from a third place Superpole qualifying position. He will arrive in Australia in a few days time for round two with a share of the championship lead. Toseland’s push towards a final second place in race one was an immaculate ride almost until the end, with only one rider able to make a better result after 18-laps; Max Biaggi. Roberto Rolfo scored seventh in his first race for his new team, with Steve Martin (DFX Corse Honda CBR100RR) 11th, after qualifying only 17th. All other official Honda riders in race one fell out of contention for points scoring places or retired. Toseland’s start-to-finish domination of race two was an impressive sight and despite a strong push from Biaggi in the final laps, Toseland held out to win by a 0.7 seconds, leaving Qatar with a share of the championship lead. Now on 45 points, Toseland and Biaggi are 20 points clear of the rest of the chasing pack, headed by Lanzi on 25 points. Race two was not as fruitful for Rolfo, as he was forced to retire on lap one with clutch issues, but for the three race one non-finishers, Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR), Joshua Brookes (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) and Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) points were scored for 12th, 13th and 14th places respectively. A change of suspension setting for Martin had a negative effect on rear tyre traction, and he struggled hard to score 18th place. Toseland was the only rider to stay with Biaggi in race one, and was a popular race two winner. “I have had a great weekend,” said a jubilant Toseland. “I was quickest on Friday morning and in the top three in all sessions. My lowest position was sixth and that was in the warm up this morning. I was quite disappointed with the first race, but in the second race we set the pace and got to the front. The last two laps were difficult but we made it and got first place. This is my seventh year in World Superbikes and I am fitter than ever. We deserve to be at the front after a winter of hard work and to get there in the first race weekend is brilliant.” Rolfo’s weekend was highlighted by his good points in race one, but he felt a twinge of disappointment about race two. “Every rider is disappointed when they have a problem that is outside of their control,” stated Rolfo. “However, putting that aside it’s been a fantastic experience to be part of such a professional team for the first event of the 2007 championship. I have learned a lot about the bike and the way I need to ride it. I still have a heavy feeling at the front of the bike, particularly at the beginning of the race, but once I overcome this with my riding I will be very happy.” Martin realised that the changes made between race one and race two were not the correct ones, but race one was a big improvement on qualifying. “Our first race was good, really happy with that after qualifying,” said Martin. “In the second race we went stiffer with the suspension to try and get it to turn and it was completely the wrong way. I had no grip at all, like riding around in the wet. So at least we know to go softer from now on.” Fabrizio had his wheel taken from him in first lap of race one, but recovered to 13th place in race two, and 14th overall in the table, despite some rear traction problems. “A bad race one because I got knocked off by another rider, and a not so good race two, but I got some points,” said Fabrizio, “At the beginning of the second race things were pretty good but half way through the rear started spinning a lot and I couldn’t push any harder.” Brookes fell in the opening leg, but won at least one fight in race two. “After the crash in race one we thought the bike was OK, but on the start line the temperature went right up and to be honest I was worrying about how hot the engine was getting, and I thought I was going to have to pull in,” said Brookes. “Once I got going the temperature did come down and I ended up having a battle with Karl. Every lap I was getting plus zero on my pit board but I managed to keep him behind me until the end.” Muggeridge, who had an eventful pre-race Losail meeting missed the whole first qualifying session due to technical issues, collided with another rider in final qualifying and had his clutch go on race one, but fought back in race two. “We’re losing out on power at the moment and so we’re just having to run with what we’ve got,” said Muggeridge. “We’ve lost a lot of track time over the weekend, which hasn’t made it easy, but I still feel that the bike is working well. We just need to get a bit more horsepower into the equation. We’ve got good potential with the chassis and electronics and we just need a bit more time to set it all up.” Results SUPERSPORT: RACE : (Laps 18 = 96,840 Km Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time /Gap 1 / K. SOFUOGLU / TUR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 37’22.452 / 2 / K. CURTAIN / AUS / Yamaha World SSP Racing / 37’25.865 / 3.413 3 / K. FUJIWARA / JPN / Althea Honda Team / 37’28.680 / 6.228 4 / F. FORET / FRA / Team Gil Motor Sport / 37’36.211 / 13.759 5 / P. RIBA / ESP / Team Gil Motor Sport / 37’36.309 / 13.857 6 / R.HARMS / DEN / Stiggy Motorsport Honda / 37’36.986 / 14.534 7 / M.ROCCOLI / ITA / Yamaha Team Italia / 37’41.102 / 18.65 8 / G.NANNELLI / ITA / Team Caracchi Ducati SC / 37’41.227 / 18.775 9 / B. VENEMAN / NED / Team Hoegee Suzuki / 37’41.743 / 19.291 10 / V. KALLIO / FIN / Team Hoegee Suzuki / 37’43.047 / 20.595 11 / J. FORES / ESP / HP Racing / 37’43.269 / 20.817 12 / C. JONES / GBR / Revè Ekerold Honda Racing / 37’44.850 / 22.398 13 / L. ALFONSI / ITA / Althea Honda Team / 37’49.355 / 26.903 14 / D. SALOM FUENTES / ESP / Yamaha Spain / 37’51.020 / 28.568 15 / G.VIZZIELLO / ITA / RG Team / 37’56.968 / 34.516 Fastest Lap 3° Sébastien Charpentier 2’02.949 157,529 Km/h Lap record: 2006 S.Charpentier 2’03.921 156,290 Km/h Best Lap: 2007 K.Curtain 2’02.081 158,650 Riders Championship Standings: 1 SOFUOGLU 25, 2 CURTAIN 20, 3 FUJIWARA 16, 4 FORET 13, 5 RIBA 11, 6 HARMS 10, 7 ROCCOLI 9, 8 NANNELLI 8, 9 VENEMAN 7, 10 KALLIO 6, 11 FORES 5, 12 JONES 4, 13 ALFONSI 3, 14 SALOM 2, 15 VIZZIELLO 1 SUPERBIKE Race 1 : (Laps 18 = 96,840 Km) Pos / Rider / Nat. / Team / Time / Gap 1 / M.BIAGGI / ITA / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 36’10.115 / 2 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 36’11.598 / 1.483 3 / L. LANZI / ITA / Ducati Xerox Team / 36’24.021 / 13.906 4 / Y. KAGAYAMA / JPN / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 36’24.934 / 14.819 5 / T. BAYLISS / AUS / Ducati Xerox Team / 36’27.420 / 17.305 6 / M.NEUKIRCHNER / GER / Suzuki Germany / 36’35.046 / 24.931 7 / R. ROLFO / ITA / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 36’35.280 / 25.165 8 / N.HAGA / JPN / Yamaha Motor Italia / 36’37.435 / 27.32 9 / T. CORSER / AUS / Yamaha Motor Italia / 36’41.352 / 31.237 10 / R. XAUS / ESP / Team Sterilgarda / 36’41.784 / 31.669 11 / S. MARTIN / AUS / D.F.X. Corse / 36’52.470 / 42.355 12 / S. NAKATOMI / JPN / Yamaha YZF / 36’56.960 / 46.845 13 / A. POLITA / ITA / Celani Team Suzuki Italia / 37’09.322 / 59.207 14 / J. SMRZ / CZE / Team Caracchi Ducati SC / 37’10.411 / 1’00.296 15 / D. ELLISON / GBR / Team Pedercini / 37’31.158 / 1’21.043 Fastest Lap 7° Max Biaggi 1’59.275 162,381 Km/h Race 2: (Laps 18 = 96,840 Km) 1 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 36’09.433 / 2 / M.BIAGGI / ITA / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 36’10.171 / 0.738 3 / T. CORSER / AUS / Yamaha Motor Italia / 36’16.819 / 7.386 4 / N.HAGA / JPN / Yamaha Motor Italia / 36’24.417 / 14.984 5 / F. NIETO / ESP / Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse / 36’24.466 / 15.033 6 / Y. KAGAYAMA / JPN / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 36’25.344 / 15.911 7 / L. LANZI / ITA / Ducati Xerox Team / 36’26.097 / 16.664 8 / T. BAYLISS / AUS / Ducati Xerox Team / 36’32.682 / 23.249 9 / R. XAUS / ESP / Team Sterilgarda / 36’33.715 / 24.282 10 / M.NEUKIRCHNER / GER / Suzuki Germany / 36’42.913 / 33.48 11 / R. LACONI / FRA / Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse / 36’43.437 / 34.004 12 / M.FABRIZIO / ITA / D.F.X. Corse / 36’46.730 / 37.297 13 / J. BROOKES / AUS / Alto Evolution Honda / 36’51.497 / 42.064 14 / K. MUGGERIDGE / AUS / Alto Evolution Honda / 36’51.792 / 42.359 15 / A. POLITA / ITA / Celani Team Suzuki Italia / 36’55.639 / 46.206 Fastest Lap 4° Max Biaggi 1’59.194 162,491 Km/h Record Lap: 2007 Max Biaggi 1’59.275 162,380 Km/h Best Lap: 2007 T.Corser 1’58.402 163,580 Riders Championship Standings: 1 TOSELAND 45, 2 BIAGGI 45, 3 LANZI 25, 4 CORSER 23, 5 KAGAYAMA 23, 6 HAGA 21, 7 BAYLISS 19, 8 NEUKIRCHNER 16, 9 XAUS 13, 10 NIETO 11, 11 ROLFO 9, 12 LACONI 5, 13 MARTIN 5, 14 FABRIZIO 4, 15 NAKATOMI 4. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: ROUND 1 DOHA, QATAR 24th FEBRUARY 2007 RACE REVIEW 24 February 2007, Doha (Qatar) In Qatar, at the Losail circuit near Doha, the World Superbike and Supersport championships properly got underway. Much pre-race attention had been focused on new rider Max Biaggi and his Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki. The first session was enough to show that it would be a battle for the wins. James Toseland made a wonderful qualifying time of 1’58.6, some 1.4 seconds faster than the previous best at this stage last year. The Superpole competition also delivered even better results: Troy Corser took the Superpole win, using race tyres and not qualifiers, with a new best of 1’58.402 After the riders ‘long runs’ it was also obvious that the DIABLO SUPERBIKE would offer up superb performance. The conditions for raceday proved to be warm and dry, with track temperatures quite high, into the region of 40°C. Race1: AIR HUMIDITY 56% AIR TEMPERATURE 25°C TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 43° C The green lights kicked things off, and the first laps of race one saw the first two podium places determined almost from then on. There was clear space between the Yamahas, the Suzuki of Biaggi and the Honda of Toseland and the rest, and they stretched it out as the race developed. As each rider jostled for position and tried to make a break, the pace became incredibile. On lap 7 Max set the best time (1’59.275) eight tenths faster than in 2006, thanks to the performance and speed available from the DIABLO SUPERBIKE. On the 18th lap, Biaggi even managed to set a 2’00.980, in a race that was 21 seconds faster than in 2006. Moving up from the beginning was Lorenzo Lanzi, back to his best form as he took his Ducati Xerox 999 to a fine third, behind Biaggi and the chasing Toseland. Also a great result came for the other Max, Max Neukirchner, 6th on a Suzuki Germany privateer machine. Race2: AIR HUMIDITY 44% AIR TEMPERATURE 26°C TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 47° C The second race started like the first; Toseland, the two Yamahas of Corser, Haga, and then Biaggi. These four riders made an early nreak, almost a photocopy of race one. Some riders had chosen to learn some lessons from race one, for example Haga (who went from C to B on the rear) and even the champion Troy Bayliss, who was in difficulty all weekend (who went from an A to a C on the front). Toseland had an almost perfect race two, and was in command for the entire race. 18 laps later he underlined his form and finished ahead of Biaggi and Corser. The lap record was once more beaten by Max Biaggi, with a 1’59.194. There were three different bikes on the podium, (Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha) and Kawasaki also had a result worth celebrating when fifth position went to Fonsi Nieto. A sweet result after a collision between the two green factory machines in race one. The championship was truly kickstarted into life at Losail,with fast times and close competition between not just the riders but the competing manufacturers as well.. This was also due to the materials supplied by Pirelli; tyres which can work on any machine and available in the same choices for all. This aspect, in particular, guarantees close competition for all. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Corser gives Yamaha debut podium Troy Corser gave his Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team something to cheer with a hard fought podium finish in the second race at today’s opening round of the 2007 Superbike World Championship in Qatar. With team-mate Noriyuki Haga digging deep to finish fourth, it was a promising start for the 2007-model YZF-R1, which was making its world championship debut at the Losail circuit. Having proved its pace by taking Corser to pole in qualifying, the new R1 wasn’t quite able to repeat its performance over the race distance – although things started promisingly as the red Yamahas hit the front on the opening laps of the first race. The R1s fought a four-way battle for the lead with Max Biaggi (Suzuki) and James Toseland (Honda) but it soon became obvious that the Corser and Haga were suffering more than their rivals in the warm conditions when they started to fall off the pace after six laps. Haga struggled for front end grip as his tyre wore while Corser’s machine vibrated heavily due to his rear tyre spinning on the rim. In the circumstances both men rode well to bring their machines home in the top 10, Haga eighth and Corser ninth. In the second race the Yamaha men were able to battle with Biaggi and Toseland for around 11 laps before dropping off the pace. Corser and Haga were able to stay closer to the leading duo and maintained their third and fourth places to the flag, the Japanese rider only just fending off Fonsi Nieto (Kawasaki) as he crossed the line. Team YZF Yamaha’s Shinichi Nakatomi scored points for 12th place in the opening race, although the Japanese rider finished just outside the points, in 17th, in the second. Biaggi and Toseland each took a win and a second place to jointly lead the championship. The Italian won the day’s opener, his first ever superbike race, while British rider Toseland held the advantage in the second. Corser’s podium sees him leave Qatar fourth in the championship while Haga heads to next weekend’s second round, held at Australia’s Phillip Island circuit, sixth in the standings. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team) “The first race was really tough because but the tyre was more consistent in the second and that meant that I could stay with James and Max for longer. I decided to stick with the same tyre choice and tried to put the problems we had in the first race out of my mind. I was ok when I was with them as the slipstream helped me make up a little bit down the straight, but when they made a break I didn’t have an answer to them. Overall though it’s been a positive start. It’s my first weekend with Yamaha, on a new bike, and we’ve finished on the podium. We’ve got a very good chassis and I feel really comfortable riding the bike, so if we can make the tyres last then there’s no reason why we can’t get a good result at Phillip Island next weekend.” Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team) “It has been a difficult day because after about six laps my front tyre is gone! For race two we made some changes and used the softer rear tyre, but already we used the hardest option on the front. I did the best possible today and I am looking forward to next weekend.” Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) “It was good to score some points in the first race. We are learning about this new bike all the time so we will be stronger as the year goes on. The second race was more difficult as more riders finished but I am hoping to get more points next weekend.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator – Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team) “While we were all very happy with our performance in qualifying yesterday we also knew that it would be difficult in the races today. We have a new motorcycle this year and tyre wear was a problem at this race especially with Noriyuki, maybe because of his riding style. But we were not the only team to experience problems and thankfully we understand what has happened and how we can work to improve the bike. There are many positives to take from this weekend and if Troy hadn’t have had his problems in the first race I am sure he would have been on the podium twice.” More, from a press release issued by Steve Martin’s publicist: Mixed Fortunes for Steve in Qatar The opening races of the 2007 World Superbike Championship in Qatar were of mixed fortunes for Steve Martin, with the Aussie taking 11th and 18th places in races one and two respectively. The minor set up changes made to Steve’s Honda CBR1000RR overnight aided the machine’s handling for the morning warm up, in which Steve took 12th place in the timesheet. Starting from the fifth row of the grid, Steve achieved an excellent start in race one to move up to 14th by the fourth lap. He quickly found a competitive pace with consistent lap times to keep the trail of bikes behind him at bay. Then with the Kawasaki team pairing taking each other out on lap 12, Steve was elevated to 12th and after a further two laps he got the better of Nakatomi with a perfectly set up overtaking manoeuvre, to take 11th place and five points at the end of the eighteen lap race. Race two was less fruitful however, with changes made to Steve’s Honda after race one proving to have a greater effect on the bike’s set up than anticipated and resulting in excessive tyre destruction. Steve commented, “This weekend was always going to be tough as it was the first time we had a number of new parts and were able to ride and test the bike with all these new elements together. That ultimately meant we spent a lot of the track sessions working on bike set up and essentially ‘testing’, which is never going to be ideal for being competitive at a race weekend. “Whilst I made some good progress in race one, I’m still a bit disappointed with 11th as that is not a position I want to be in and know I am capable of so much more with a competitive package, but I guess at least I did get some points in the bag. “We made a few small changes to the bike in between the races, but these actually caused significant tyre wear in race two so I just wasn’t able to hold a consistent lap time and went backwards. The bike’s new electronic system is also not up to scratch and when racing against the factory guys you’ve just got to have the full package! “At this point we are still learning the bike and working through new part evaluation and base set up options, so I am confident there is a lot more to come and hopefully it will, very soon!” Steve now returns to Australia for the second round of the championship at the picturesque Philip Island circuit next weekend.