From a press release issued by series organizers FGSport:

2004 FIM WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

10th round Imola, 23-26 September 2004

LACONI IN CONTROL WITH TWO SUPERB WINS

LACONI DOUBLES UP: The ever-changing 2004 World Superbike Championship series threw up another pair of outstanding races for the 76,000 Imola crowd, blessed by sunshine and some exceptionally dramatic on-track action. Regis Laconi took the championship lead from his team-mate James Toseland (Ducati Fila 999F004) after two wars of attrition for the leading riders. Laconi overpowered Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) in race one, as the young Aussie lost a fraction of front end feel and traction, and performed the same trick in race two, this time on the perennially competitive Toseland. The championship battle is still very much alive for three riders, with Laconi on 295, Toseland on 291 and Vermeulen on 282. An epic battle beckons on October 3, with Noriyuki Haga also still in with an arithmetical chance of the overall title win.

RACE ONE: A virtual start-to-finish victory for Chris Vermeulen was only halted by the aggression and pace of Regis Laconi on the last two laps of the 21-lap opener, as the Frenchman blew by on the run down the hill to the first Ravazza, putting over a second between himself and Vermeulen in the last two laps as Laconi upped the pace and Vermeulen fought against a loss of front end feel and performance. James Toseland (Ducati Fila) recovered from a mid race drop in pace to re-pass Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati Koji) for third place, after a bold pass on the exit of the Variante Alta. Garry McCoy capitalised on his front row start with fifth place.

RACE TWO: The second outing was another spectacular man-to-man fight for the win, after a triumvirate of riders had made it a close contest for half the race. Haga crashed out of the lead after experiencing mechanical problems, allowing Toseland to escape to possible victory, only to be headed off in the last three laps by Laconi. In a photo finish, Laconi held off the aggressive Toseland, trying to elbow his way past on the short finish straight, by only 0.041 seconds. Vermeulen swapped his number one bike for his spare after an electrical problem, crashed on his spare, then made the race after receiving a lift back to the pits. Starting flat last, and suffering from a badly bruised hip, hand and ankle, Vermeulen took an improbable and outstanding sixth.

MARTIN SECURES PODIUM FIVE: After some drifts in form of late, Steve Martin (DFX Ducati 999) kept his head and his pace to leave Imola with a sixth place and then a more than welcome third, as the top riders dropped out of contention one by one. After a sparkling pre-race showing, Garry McCoy (SC Xerox Ducati 999) was the Aussie privateer most likely to succeed in any potential podium tussle, but he maintained a respectable sixth in the series with two fifth place Imola finishes.

LOCAL LION: Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati 998RS) had a lowly homecoming, taking only a seventh place and suffering from having to start from 16th place on the grid. Walking back in to the pits he received a hero’s welcome, and he remained fifth in the championship fight, with 222 points.

OPPOSITE VIEWS: Troy Corser secured two points scoring finishes on his Foggy Petronas machine, but 12th and tenth were not the results he was looking for. Chris Walker had no such luck, with a double no score.

SUPERSPORT: Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) once more showed his Supersport pre-eminence by taking win number six of the year, and the world title itself. His was the third straight win for the Ten Kate Team, who’s other rider Broc Parkes, was in contention to beat Muggeridge for almost all 21-laps. His desire to pass had his team covering their eyes at some points, but when Jurgen van den Goorbergh fell out of contention the title was decided there and then. Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) was third, with the first non-Honda the Breil Ducati of Lorenzo Lanzi, fourth. The fight for second in the championship now moves to Magny Cours, with Parkes only four points adrift of van den Goorbergh’s 119 points. Charpentier could also finish higher than his current fourth place.

SUPERSTOCK. The European Superstock class went through dramas even before the race itself, when Championship leader Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha) was ruled out of the event, crashing in a pre-race Supermoto challenge. His team-mate Lorenzo Alfonsi, 16 points adrift in the championship fight, could not capitalize as he finished out of the points, thanks to a broken gear lever. He now has to finish second or better at the final round in Magny Cours to secure the title. The race winner was Riccardo Chiarello (Suzuki) from Kenan Sofuoglu (Yamaha) and Enrique Rocamora (Suzuki). Rocamora was later excluded from the results, making Luca Scasso the eventual third place rider.


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

World Supersport Championship
Round 9 Imola, Italy 24 – 26 September 2004

Track: Dry, 35°C
Air: Warm, Sunny 23°C
Attendance: 72,000 (three days).

HONDA RIDER MUGGERIDGE TAKES RACE WIN AND THE WORLD TITLE

Karl Muggeridge took win number six of a quite spectacularly successful Supersport year on the Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, winning his first and his team’s third World Riders’ Championship in the process. Running in the lead throughout, he scored his latest victory after taking his eighth pole position in nine attempts the day before.

His only rival throughout the entire race was his own team-mate, Broc Parkes, who finally finished his race in second place, 1.251 seconds down at the end of 21-hot and pressurised laps. The lack of team orders was evident from the outset, as Parkes attempted to pass on numerous occasions, twice heading up Muggeridge but never making it stick across the line.

Another dominant day in Supersport for Honda teams saw Sebastien Charpentier take his Klaffi Honda CBR600RR to a fine third, overcoming some small set-up issues in qualifying, which he completed in fourth grid position. Only four points are required by any CBR600RR rider at the final round in Magny Cours next weekend to win the coveted Manufacturers’ crown for Honda.

New team Italia Megabike CBR600RR Honda rider Michel Fabrizio scored seventh on his Supersport debut, the 2003 European Superstock champion and former MotoGP rider fitting in well to the crucible of Supersport racing.

Just outside the top ten Klaffi Honda rider Max Neukirchner survived a first lap scare to take 11th, and five valuable championship points. Denis Sacchetti (Team Italia Megabike Honda CBR600RR) took 13th place, fighting in a group all the way.

It was an emotional day for Muggeridge, but one which was conducted in a cool and calm fashion on the track, despite the high pace and what was at stake. When he heard that his only championship rival Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha) had crashed out, Muggeridge’s reply was unequivocal, “I opened the gas some more,” he stated. “Broc kept the pressure on the whole time and I needed to stay on my game. I was a little bit concerned about the tyre durability at the pace we were going but in the end the tyre was sliding anyway, but got us home to finish it. My family came over here for this race so it was great that I could win it a weekend early. I’ve wanted to be world champion for a long time and today we achieved that.”

Parkes was under no team orders in the race, but got a signal to not take too many risks after some close overtaking attempts on Muggeridge. Parkes could not quite win the race, despite some attempted passes on Muggeridge. “Today was good, Karl was stronger than me at the end of the race even though felt good at the start. I felt I could win the race today, but it didn’t stick and Karl realised I was so close and kept the pressure up. I couldn’t stay with him. Sometimes when I started to put the pressure on Karl I saw my team manager Ronald leaning about four meters over the pit wall pointing at his head, telling me to stay calm, but it was always OK!”

Charpentier was on strong form one more, pushing as hard as he could but ultimately ten seconds down Muggeridge. “The race was OK for me because it was very difficult for me in practice. I could into get a good set-up this weekend but we did not have the best solution. Many Cours will be much better for me. I will try very hard to win the race in a sporting fashion.”

New boy Fabrizio relished his latest challenge, and took it home after a few late concerns, “Before I got to the race my target was to finish in the top ten, I finished seventh so I’m satisfied, especially as it was my first time here in Supersport. The bike feels good. During the first six laps I was up with the leaders but after we had a problem with the rear suspension, I preferred to take it home in seventh rather than take too much of a risk.”

Neukirchner was fortunate to escape a first corner incident with one of the top riders, “It was a very difficult race after what was a good start off the line. I bumped with Katsuaki Fujiwara in the first couple of corners and that lost me a lot of time. It lost my contact with the leading groups, and that determined where I would finish. I had a good fight with Fujiwara and passed him on the last couple of laps. I was pleased with that, happy to get some points, but not really happy to finish in 11th place.”

Local boy Sacchetti was happy with his show on home tarmac, “I fought hard for the whole race in with a group of strong riders. I’m happy because now I know I can battle with them. I took three points for the championship and for this result I have to thank the team for their hard work.”

World Superbike Championship – Round 10
The first race at Assen proved to be a five-way battle in the early stages, a battle Regis Laconi (Ducati) was to win after a virtual race long display of front running from Chris Vermeulen, on a ten Kate Honda Fireblade. James Toseland (Ducati) headed off Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) for third, with Garry McCoy (Ducati) an eventually lonely fifth.

In the second race Vermeulen fell on the final warm-up lap, was given a lift back to the pits by Giovanni Bussei (Ducati) and started on his spare bike, last by some ten seconds. He hauled himself up the positions, finishing sixth. The race itself was won by Laconi, from Toseland and Ducati Privateer Steve Martin. The championship battle enters the final round with Laconi on 295, Toseland on 291 and Vermeulen on 282. Haga crashed and is fourth overall on 254.

The Superbike and Supersport series move the finale at Magny Cours on October 3.

Results
SUPERSPORT:
RACE : (Laps 21 = 103,593 Km)
Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time /Gap

1 / K. MUGGERIDGE / AUS / Ten Kate Honda / 39’56.749 /

2 / B. PARKES / AUS / Ten Kate Honda / 39’58.000 / 1.251

3 / S. CHARPENTIER / FRA / Klaffi Honda / 40’06.963 / 10.214

4 / L. LANZI / ITA / Ducati Breil / 40’07.696 / 10.947

5 / F. FORET / FRA / Yamaha Italia / 40’08.331 / 11.582

6 / A. PITT / AUS / Yamaha Italia / 40’08.495 / 11.746

7 / M.FABRIZIO / ITA / Italia Megabike / 40’21.836 / 25.087

8 / S. CHAMBON / FRA / Suzuki Alstare Corona Extra / 40’26.281 / 29.532

9 / M.BAIOCCO / ITA / Lorenzini by Leoni / 40’28.338 / 31.589

10 / A. ANTONELLO / ITA / Kawasaki Bertocchi / 40’34.246 / 37.497

11 / M.NEUKIRCHNER / GER / Klaffi Honda / 40’45.416 / 48.667

12 / C. COXHELL / AUS / Yamaha Motor Deutschland / 40’50.710 / 53.961

13 / D. SACCHETTI / ITA / Italia Megabike / 40’51.210 / 54.461

14 / K. FUJIWARA / JPN / Suzuki Alstare Corona Extra / 40’53.550 / 56.801

15 / C. KELLNER / GER / Yamaha Motor Deutschland / 40’54.368 / 57.619

Fastest Lap 4° Karl Muggeridge 1’53.160 156,935 Km/h

Riders Championship Standings:
1 MUGGERIDGE 182, 2 VD GOORBERGH 119, 3 PARKES 115, 4 CHARPENTIER 104, 5 CURTAIN 69, 6 LANZI 69, 7 FORET 66, 8 CHAMBON 64, 9 FUJIWARA 55, 10 NEUKIRCHNER 55, 11 CORRADI 44, 12 KELLNER 27, 13 PITT 26, 14 BROOKES 25, 15 IANNUZZO 20.

Manufacturers Standings:
1 HONDA 187, 2 YAMAHA 165, 3 SUZUKI 96, 4 DUCATI 82, 5 KAWASAKI 40.


SUPERBIKE
Race 1: (Laps 21 = 103,593 Km)
Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team /Time /Gap

1 / R. LACONI / FRA / Ducati Fila / 38’58.507 /

2 / C. VERMEULEN / AUS / Ten Kate Honda / 38’59.629 / 1.122

3 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Ducati Fila / 39’04.145 / 5.638

4 / N.HAGA / JPN / Renegade Ducati Koji / 39’05.117 / 6.610

5 / G.MCCOY / AUS / XEROX – Ducati Nortel Net. / 39’10.481 / 11.974

6 / S. MARTIN / AUS / D.F.Xtreme Sterilgarda / 39’18.505 / 19.998

7 / P. CHILI / ITA / PSG – 1 Corse / 39’28.246 / 29.739

8 / M.BORCIANI / ITA / D.F.Xtreme Sterilgarda / 39’28.987 / 30.480

9 / G.NANNELLI / ITA / XEROX – Ducati Nortel Net. / 39’39.718 / 41.211

10 / L. HASLAM / GBR / Renegade Ducati Koji / 39’46.479 / 47.972

11 / I. CLEMENTI / ITA / Kawasaki Bertocchi / 39’48.853 / 50.346

12 / T. CORSER / AUS / Foggy PETRONAS Racing / 39’52.185 / 53.678

13 / P. BONTEMPI / ITA / Zongshen / 40’12.864 / 1’14.357

14 / L. PINI / ITA / Boselli Racing / 40’14.214 / 1’15.707

15 / D. ROMBONI / ITA / Giesse Racing Team / 40’21.500 / 1’22.993

Fastest Lap 4° Régis Laconi 1’50.708 160,411 Km/h

Race 2 : (Laps 16 = 96,432 Km)
Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team /Time /Gap

1 / R. LACONI / FRA / Ducati Fila / 39’04.926 /

2 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Ducati Fila / 39’04.967 / 0.041

3 / S. MARTIN / AUS / D.F.Xtreme Sterilgarda / 39’17.278 / 12.352

4 / G.NANNELLI / ITA / XEROX – Ducati Nortel Net. / 39’28.091 / 23.165

5 / G.MCCOY / AUS / XEROX – Ducati Nortel Net. / 39’33.563 / 28.637

6 / C. VERMEULEN / AUS / Ten Kate Honda / 39’36.644 / 31.718

7 / L. PEDERCINI / ITA / Pedercini / 39’39.968 / 35.042

8 / M.BORCIANI / ITA / D.F.Xtreme Sterilgarda / 39’44.003 / 39.077

9 / I. CLEMENTI / ITA / Kawasaki Bertocchi / 39’44.266 / 39.340

10 / T. CORSER / AUS / Foggy PETRONAS Racing / 39’44.579 / 39.653

11 / G.BUSSEI / ITA / DeCecco Racing / 39’48.860 / 43.934

12 / L. HASLAM / GBR / Renegade Ducati Koji / 39’59.276 / 54.350

13 / L. PINI / ITA / Boselli Racing / 40’08.070 / 1’03.144

14 / D. ROMBONI / ITA / Giesse Racing Team / 40’12.435 / 1’07.509

15 / A. VELINI / ITA / Pedercini / 40’12.928 / 1’08.002

Fastest Lap 5° Noriyuki Haga 2’04.831 173,813 Km/h

Riders Championship Standings:
1 LACONI 295, 2 TOSELAND 291, 3 VERMEULEN 282, 4 HAGA 254, 5 CHILI 222, 6 MCCOY 185, 7 MARTIN 170, 8 HASLAM 150, 9 CORSER 137, 10 BORCIANI 130, 11 WALKER 112, 12 CLEMENTI 85, 13 SANCHINI 79, 14 NANNELLI 72, 15 BONTEMPI 63.


Manufacturers Standings:
1 DUCATI 480, 2 HONDA 289, 3 PETRONAS 183, 4 KAWASAKI 118, 5 SUZUKI 90.




More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Italia:

Date: Sunday, 26th September 2004
Circuit: Imola, m. 4.933
Race Weather: dry, sunny/cloudy Temperature: air 23° C track 35° C
Crowd: 72.000 (3-days)

JURGEN’S SLIM HOPES VANISH.
Jurgen’s slim hopes of taking the title fight to the last round disappeared in the gravel trap in Imola today when he made a mistake and crashed out of the 21-lapper. The DNF handed the crown to Aussie Karl Muggeridge (Honda) who then went on to take his sixth victory of the season, ahead of team mate Broc Parkes, with Sebastien Charpentier (also Honda-mounted) third. Fabien Foret defied the pain barrier to finish a superb fifth, with Andrew Pitt just behind in sixth.

FABIEN FORET – 5th
It has been a very difficult weekend, possibly made harder by not finding a good set-up for bike. Also, I had a lot of pain in my injured ankle and, because I have not been able to train for two months, my physical condition was not so good. That made it very hard for me, because this is a very physical track and also very bumpy. I hope to be in a bit better shape for Magny-Cours next weekend.

ANDREW PITT – 6th
I chose a front tyre that was too soft and, although I started very well, after about half race distance I began to have a lot of problems with it, I just kept going as best I could to take as many points as I could. I’m looking forward to Magny-Cours and my third race with the team.

JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH – DNF
That was a race to forget! I made a mistake and lost the front end and crashed and that was that. It was a great pity because, although my chances of taking the title were more then slim, I had hoped to make Karl wait until the final round next week.

Results
1 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda), 2 Parkes (Aus-Honda), 3 Charpentier (F-Honda), 4 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 5 FORET (F-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA), 6 PITT (AUS-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA), 7 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 8 Chambon (F-Suzuki), 9 Baiocco (I-Yamaha), 10 Antonello (i-Kawasaki), VD GOORBERGH (NL-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) DNF

Points
1 Muggeridge 182, 2 VD GOORBERGH (NL-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 119, 3 Parkes 115, 4 Charpentier 104, 5 Curtain 69, 6 Lanzi 69, 7 FORET (F-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 66, 8 Chambon 64, 9 Fujiwara 55, 10 Neukirchner 55, 13 PITT (AUS-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 26



More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist:

2004 World Superbike Championship
Round 10, Imola (Italy) , Sunday 26th September 2004
Circuit: 4.933, Weather: dry, sunny 23° C.
Crowd: 76.000 (3-days figure)

NO JOY FOR TROY.
The weekend that started badly did not improve as much as Troy would have liked and, in the end, Troy left Imola with more then a trace of disappointment. Tyre problems in race one relegated Troy to 12th place and although he had less rubber problems in race two, he could only improve his finishing position by just two places.

Factory Ducati rider Regis Laconi won both today’s 21-lappers, but had to work hard in the two races. In race one, he had to fight off Chris Vermeulen (Honda) and team mate James Toseland. In the second, he beat his team mate by just four hundredths of a second, with Steve Martin (Ducati) a lonely third.

TROY Race 1: 12th, Race 2: 10th
Well I guess that was probably not one of our best weekends. We had some problems at the start of the weekend, but I felt much more optimistic after yesterday’s progress. In the first race, my rear tyre was OK for the first three laps, but then it started spinning up and the bike began backing into turns. Initially I thought something was coming out of the bike, because it happened so suddenly. I carried on as best I could and I was having to brake where I don’t normally brake but, because I had no rear end grip, I kept missing all the apexes.

The second race was a bit better. The rear tyre was not great, but it was more consistent and the slides were more progressive. The bike also felt more stable. I could get away with the leaders at the start in both races but, as soon as riders behind came past, there was nothing I could do about it. I hope Magny-Cours will be a lot better.



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

LACONI TAKES DOUBLE WIN FOR DUCATI FILA IN DRAMATIC DAY OF RACING AT IMOLA – TWO PODIUMS FOR TOSELAND

Imola (Italy), 26 September 2004: Regis Laconi claimed his second double win of the year in dramatic circumstances at Imola to move back into the lead of the World Superbike championship with one round remaining. In front of a 72,000 strong crowd, the Frenchman first saw off the challenge of Chris Vermeulen (Honda) in race 1 and then powered past his team-mate James Toseland at the Rivazza to take his second win of the day in the second encounter. That race, which had started off with Vermeulen spectacularly crashing on the warm-up lap, ended with Laconi and Toseland making contact on the finish line on the last lap, the two Ducati Fila riders separated by just four-hundredths of a second.

“I made a few small mistakes at the beginning and the bike didn’t feel so good with the full tank so I didn’t try to push so much” declared Regis. “Haga passed me and James too so I decided just to follow them. Haga crashed in front of us which was quite difficult then I just had to pass James for the win. The only way I found to do that was on the very fast left in fifth gear. It was hard for sure but I had to go for it. The last chicane was very difficult, I braked late but I knew it was close to the finish so I just tried to be fast all the way through. It was really great to win at Imola today because Imola is a Ducati track”.

Previous points leader Toseland saw off the challenge of Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati) in the first race to take the final podium slot, while Haga saw his title hopes disappear when he crashed out in front of Toseland and Laconi on lap 10 of the second race.

“Regis was obviously protecting his line going into the last chicane” declared James about the photo-finish. “Unfortunately that finish-line is so close to the chicane but I had to try and win! It was a fantastic race, that pass he made was a tough one. I didn’t want to finish second but we’re still in the hunt for the title with one round to go, which is the main thing. It couldn’t have worked out any better for the championship. Regis and I are team-mates so there’s going to be no love lost at Magny-Cours and it’s going to be close right down to the very end”.

Anglo-French rivalry will reach a climax next Sunday in France in the final round of the championship, with Laconi four points ahead of Toseland and Vermeulen a further nine points behind.

RACE 1: 1. Laconi (Ducati Fila); 2. Vermeulen (Honda); 3. Toseland (Ducati Fila); 4. Haga (Renegade Ducati); 5. McCoy (Xerox Ducati); 6. Martin (DFX Ducati); etc. RACE 2: 1. Laconi; 2. Toseland; 3. Martin; 4. Nannelli (Xerox Ducati); 5. McCoy ; 6. Vermeulen ; etc.

POINTS (after 10 of 11 rounds) :
(Riders) 1. Laconi 295; 2. Toseland 291; 3. Vermeulen 282; 4. Haga 254; 5. Chili 222; 6. McCoy 185; etc.
(Manufacturers) 1. Ducati 480; 2. Honda 289; 3. Petronas 183; 4. Kawasaki 118; 5. Suzuki 90; 6. Yamaha 63.

DETERMINED RIDE AT IMOLA NETS FOURTH PLACE FOR LANZI (DUCATI BREIL)

Imola (Italy), 26 September 2004: Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Breil) netted his third fourth place of the season with another determined ride at Imola in a race that saw Australian Karl Muggeridge (Honda) claim the 2004 World Supersport title.

Starting eighth on the grid, the 22-year-old Italian was fourth into the first corner, a position he held to the chequered flag despite being passed by Charpentier (Honda) and coming under intense pressure from Foret and Pitt (Yamaha) in the final stages.

“I am really pleased with the result” declared Lanzi. “We knew we could do a great race but once again I finished just over half-a-second away from the podium. That was a real pity because we worked well all weekend and if it hadn’t rained on Friday morning I am sure we might have been able to try and find some other solutions.

“In any case the result is a good one, a big thanks to the team who did a great job and also to the tyres, which gave me a hand in getting fourth place.

“Three Hondas ahead of me but all the others behind, for us that is a great achievement. I wanted to get the podium to dedicate it to the team and to Ducati because they deserve it, but here’s to Magny-Cours where I finally hope to get one!

RACE: 1: Muggeridge (Honda); 2. Parkes (Honda); 3. Charpentier (Honda); 4. Lanzi (Ducati Breil); 5. Foret (Yamaha); 6. Pitt (Yamaha); 7. Fabrizio (Honda); 8. Chambon (Suzuki); etc.

POINTS (after 9 of 10 rounds):
(Riders) 1. Muggeridge 182 (2004 WSS champion); 2. VD Goorbergh (Yamaha) 119; 3. Parkes 115; 4. Charpentier 104; 5. Curtain (Yamaha) & Lanzi 69; etc.
(Manufacturers) 1. Honda 187 ; 2. Yamaha 165 ; 3. Suzuki 96; 4. Ducati 82; 5. Kawasaki 40; 6. Triumph 4.