FIM Supersport World Championship Monza, Italy May 11, 2008 Race Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Fabien FORET (Yam YZF-R6), 16 laps, 29:38.261 2. Josh BROOKES (Hon CBR600RR), -1.199 seconds 3. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), -6.736 4. Andrew PITT (Hon CBR600RR), -11.398 5. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), -11.477 6. Craig JONES (Hon CBR600RR), -11.716 7. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), -11.757 8. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Hon CBR600RR), -12.186 9. Joan LASCORZ (Hon CBR600RR), -14.847 10. Angel RODRIGUEZ (Yam YZF-R6), -15.175 30. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Hon CBR600RR), -9 laps, DNF, mechanical 33. Jonathan REA (Hon CBR600RR), -14 laps, DNF, mechanical World Championship Point Standings (After 5 of 13 races): 1. Lacorz, 77 points 2. Foret, 71 3. Parkes, 65 4. TIE, Pitt/Brookes, 63 6. Jones, 49 7. Rea, 41 8. Harms, 39 9. Lagrive, 28 10. Vizzielo, 26 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Racing: Positive results for HANNspree at Monza It had been a good day all-round for the HANNspree teams at the fifth round of the World Supersport Championship at Monza, Italy, with supported riders Joshua Brookes, Andrew Pitt and Robbin Harms finishing the 16-lap race in the top five positions. HANNspree Stiggy Motorsport’s Brookes was the highest-finishing HANNspree rider with a superb second place finish at the chequered flag. The 25-year-old Australian has shown good form this season aboard the Honda CBR600RR. His podium finish at Monza adds 20 points to his championship tally and maintains his fifth position overall. Determined to repeat his winning performance from Assen, HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Pitt also made a good start from seventh position on the grid. Although the Australian couldn’t clinch the victory from a dominant Fabien Foret, he remained consistent throughout the race, finishing fourth behind Broc Parkes. His result adds 13 points to his overall tally. Brookes’ HANNspree Stiggy Motorsport team-mate Harms also had a positive day in Italy. The 26-year-old Danish rider rode consistently well, and even mixed with the frontrunners throughout the 16-lap race, to score fifth place at the chequered flag. Harms is now in eighth position overall with 39 points. Meanwhile HANNspree Honda Althea’s Gianluca Nannelli could only manage 13th position at his local circuit, while his fellow Italian team-mate Gianluca Vizziello was forced to retire from his home race. Despite starting from fifth place on the grid, HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea was also forced to retire from the Monza event due to technical problems on lap two. Race result 1 Foret F. 29’38.261 2 Brookes J. +1.199 3 Parkes B. +6.736 4 Pitt A. +11.398 5 Harms R. +11.477 6 Jones C. +11.716 7 Roccoli M. +11.757 8 Lagrive M. +12.186 9 Lascorz J. +14.847 10 Rodriguez A. +15.175 13 Nannelli G. +25.077 DNF Vizziello G. DNF Rea J. Standings after five rounds 1. J. Lascorz 77 2. F. Foret 71 3. B. Parkes 65 4. A. Pitt 63 5. J. Brookes 63 6. C. Jones 49 7. J. Rea 41 8. R. Harms 39 9. M. Lagrive 28 10. G. Vizziello 26 12. G. Nannelli 20 More, from a press release issued by Scuderia Triumph SC: UNBELIEVABLE MISFORTUNE AT MONZA, BUT WE CAN SEE SOME IMPROVEMENT FOR THE FUTURE (Monza Italy May 11, 2008) It lasted just a few meters the race at Monza for the pair of 675 Triumph SC ridden by Garry McCoy and Ruggero Scambia: both the riders of the English triples have been throw down in the gravel during the first lap confusion in the first chicane after a quite good start. The morning’s warm up session showed that the situation was increasing in a positive way and just the unbelievable misfortune did prevent a final good result. Garry McCoy related what happened: “When the red light switched off I got a perfect start and I earned immediately several positions, but at the entrance of the first chicane in front of me they have done a terrible confusion and someone take me away the front wheel, so I crashed in the escape lane. That’s a pity because the team made a great job and during the warm up the bike performed very well, as well I didn’t push too hard. The choice of tyres was good, so everything was going to get a good race, but on the contrary after a few meters I were everything was ended, I could just take up the bike from the gravel and rejoin slowly the pit. Actually a bad day, however we are confident for the future because the improvement we have seen during the morning’s session.” Ruggero Scambia is deeply disappointed for a debut that, in practice, has not been: “At the start I’ve seen a t push one’s way through the group and I did throw myself inside grabbing immediately a middle group position, then in front of me happened a row, somebody did touch my front wheel and I crashed. Anyway after the warm up I was confident because during the warm up I recorded lap times similar or better as more experienced rider, so I was hoping in a good race if I could get a good start. But my dream vanished at the first corner. However this first race allowed me to accumulate a precious experience that will be useful in the next rounds.” More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Top six for heroic Jones PARKALGAR HONDA’S Craig Jones took a brilliant and heroic sixth place at the fifth round of the World Supersport Championship at Monza in Italy today after starting from 12th on the grid with a broken hand. British racer Jones broke the fifth metatarsal in his left hand when he crashed in free practice yesterday, but a mix of top-class medical attention from the mobile clinic and sheer determination saw him qualify and start the race at one of the fastest and most physically demanding circuits the series visits. Parkalgar Honda’s Portuguese star Miguel Praia was forced to retire on lap 13 with a clutch problem while battling to get into the top 15. Yamaha’s Fabien Foret won the race. The sixth round of the World Supersport Championship takes place at the Nurburgring in Germany on Sunday, June 15th. Before then, the Parkalgar Honda team will make a wild-card appearance at the fourth round of the British Supersport Championship at Donington Park in the UK on Sunday, May 26th. Craig Jones: “It wasn’t so much the pain that gave me a problem in the race, but rather the lack of feel from my hand on the bars. I gave it my best effort in the circumstances and am pleased to have taken sixth, that is a decent result all things considered. “I have a couple of weeks to heal before our wild-card ride in the British Supersport Championship and another couple of weeks after that to get back to 100 per cent fitness in time for Germany. Well done to the Parkalgar Honda team for providing me with such a quick bike, it really helped at this circuit and I can’t wait to repay my crew with more champagne.” Miguel Praia: “I got a great start and was in 16th place when I was forced to retire because of my clutch. It is disappointing as I was so near to scoring more points but sometimes this bad luck happens in racing. “Now I am looking forward to racing at Donington Park as a wild card entry in the British Supersport Championship in two weeks time.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Craig has just had one of the best rides of his career to date in my opinion. We had hoped that the top 10 was achievable but to finish a fraction away from fourth and in sixth place is simply mega. He has shown real determination and that is the sort of character that marks him out as a race winner in the future. He can leave here with his head held high and looking forward to what he can achieve when he is back to full fitness. “I am gutted for Miguel because he deserved to finish and score points and was riding well. His clutch let him down and it is something that we can make an adjustment for in the future to minimise the chance of it happening again. “Parkalgar Honda leaves Monza in high spirits and looking forward. Our bikes are amongst the fastest in the Championship and both the riders and the team staff can take great heart from that. ” More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Pitt takes fourth in Monza Supersport race HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Andrew Pitt was well on the pace in the warm up session but struggled in race conditions at Monza today. After an imperfect start and a struggle through the first corner, Pitt came through the first lap in 8th position and started his move forward. Despite a strong overhaul of riders in front of him, problems with the grip of his tires forced him to abort plans to push further and he finished the race in 4th position. Jonathan Rea, Rea, who had qualified 5th in his first race outing on the Monza track, was cruelly robbed of his chance on a good race at Monza when he had to bring his bike back to the garage in the second lap of the race due to a technical problem. Andrew Pitt, 4th; “The clutch broke down on the start and I started going backwards. On going into the first turn I got boxed in and then someone bumped me and I came out of there in a bad position.” “The tire we had just didn’t work well for us. I suffered loss of grip coming out of the parabolica and just couldn’t open the throttle.” “I think my 4th position here today is a salvage rather then a gain.” Jonathan Rea, DNF; “It has been quite a disappointing day for us here. Because of the long gearing at Monza I burned my clutch in one lap. I had a really good start, but the next thing I know the bike has no power and I got passed on the straights.” “Its not good for the team, but I can leave with a positive feeling of coming to another new track and qualifying 5th. We fixed the problems we had in qualifying and I was feeling very confident about the race.” “I guess these things just happen sometimes. Luckily we are still not a million miles away in the Championship so I’m looking forward to the next race and have another chance.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: World Supersport Championship Brookes Takes Podium Place at Monza After 16 laps of the classic 5.793km Monza circuit near Milan Josh Brookes (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) secured a fine second place, repeating his qualifying result, and going fifth in the championship fight overall. Brookes was only 1.199 seconds from the win, but five seconds clear of third. In fourth place, in the race and in the championship fight, Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) overcame a seventh place qualifying performance to go fourth in the race. He was unable to get on terms with the three leading riders due to a lack of traction exiting some key corners. The podium places went to winner Fabien Foret, Brookes and Broc Parkes. After the fifth round of the year, Honda privateer Joan Lascorz still leads the championship, 77 points to Foret’s 71. Lascorz was outgunned at Monza, and finished a brave ninth. Parkes has 65 and Pitt and Brookes are tied on 63, in fourth and fifth places respectively. Pitt’s team-mate Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) burned his clutch from the start and had to finish his race early. He is now seventh overall, on 41 points. He had qualified 5th, and was looking for another podium to add to his recent Assen success. Craig Jones (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) had to ride with a broken bone in his left hand after a practice crash but he toughed it out to go sixth in the race, after qualifying only 12th. He battled in Pitt’s group on the last few laps, one place behind an aggressive Robbin Harms (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR). Harms was a second row starter, and did well to eradicate memories of a big crash in last year’s Monza race. Harms is now 8th in the rankings, on 39 points. Gianluca Nannelli (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) was 13th in the race after experiencing unexpected problems with front end vibration, and is now 12th overall. His temporary team-mate, Gianluca Vizziello, had his gear change pedal tip knocked off by another rider, and had to pull in. Vizziello had been sixth in qualifying, at his home track. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Honda leads Yamaha by 19 points. Pitt said: “I just couldn’t get any grip in the race. I didn’t get off the start because my clutch started to spin and someone hit me in the first turn, so that left me a lot of work to do. I thought I was going to get up there to the leaders but I just couldn’t get the traction coming out of the Parabolica. That was more a case of salvaging fourth place than gaining it.” Brookes said: “I had a great start from second place and was in the lead for the first two laps. As it has been some time since I’ve been in the lead, I got a bit anxious and lost my rhythm. Parkes came past me and pulled away a little. Foret also passed me but I was able to take advantage of his slipstream to catch Parkes up again and then pass him. I finished the race in second place. I’m satisfied, if not entirely happy, but I know I put in a good effort and rode as hard as I could. The whole weekend has been working really well for us, so I was hoping for a win. The championship has really closed up after this race and I’m now in joint fourth place, so that’s good.” Jones said: “It wasn’t so much the pain that gave me a problem in the race, but rather the lack of feel from my hand on the bars. I gave it my best effort in the circumstances and am pleased to have taken sixth, that is a decent result, all things considered.” Rea said: “I got off the line really well then the clutch lever popped out and the bike did a wheelie. I got to the first chicane OK and then the clutch started slipping, I started losing drive and I couldn’t finish the lap.” Harms said: “I made a good start and was in third place on the first lap. The bike was working well and I was pushing to stay in third, but lost some places because I had problems shifting down. But that problem seemed to go away and I managed a good pace again. Pitt came past and I stayed behind him for a few laps, but I knew I could easily pass him on the straights. I had a battle with a group of four riders for fourth place and towards the end of the race I had a few moments, but it still felt good and controllable. I’m quite happy with fifth but, as always, I want to finish on the podium so that’s my goal for the next race for sure.” Nannelli said: “It’s unbelievable. I changed my bike on the grid, but on my second bike, starting from the first lap, I felt some vibration coming from my front wheel. I couldn’t really chase the riders in front of me and the only thing I could do was try and finish the race.” The next race is at the Nürburgring, Germany, on June 14, as the World Supersport Championship will not follow the World Superbike class to Miller in the USA. More, from a press release issued by Triumph ITalia BE1: For the 5th time in a row Triumph Italia BE1 finish again into the points thanks to the 11th position taken by Mark Aitchison. The Aussie rider made an excellent start which allowed him to avoid the funnel at the first chicane where 4 riders went crashed. He passed the first lap line in 12th position and then he played a wise game which gave him the opportunity to get 5 gold points and being now the 14th best rider of the rank. As well, Ivan Clementi made improvements respect to the qualifying and he finished in 21st position. The Italian rider spent the warm-up to sort out the problems he run into during the previous two days of testing. Nevertheless Clementi lost the chance to fight for the points due to the crashes of the first corner where he ended out trying to avoid Walker’s bike. IVAN CLEMENTI | Triumph 675 | 21st classified: “Although this has been my worst race, there are few positive things to save. After having ended out, I focused my attention on the machine and I tested the motorbike in different situations. So I collected many data which will be helpful in order to get everything ready for the next round, where I feel confident to redeem myself”. MARK AITCHISON | Triumph 675 | 11th classified: “It has been a really nice wee-end and I’m really satisfied about my improvements during the qualifying. For the race we made some little setting changes, trying to get more grip from the rear. The bike didn’t return the improvements expected but I took a good result anyway. Maybe keeping the old set-up would have been the best choice and I would have had the chance to get a better result”. GIULIANO ROVELLI | TEAM MANAGER: “I expected a thrilling funny race from Mark Aitchison who would have been able to be in the leading pack since the pace shown during the qualifying. Anyway we got 5 meaningful points and Triumph 675 fine-tuned by our team was the quickest motorbike of the Supersport World Championship. Today result give us the opportunity to increase the gap from Kawasaki and Suzuki, confirming the third place of Triumph in the manufactures championship”. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Foret wins in style at Monza Both Fabien Foret and Broc Parkes posted heroic performances in race conditions at Monza, with Foret taking his first win of the 2008 season, by 1.199 seconds, and Parkes finishing third. Parkes was unsure if he could even ride at all on Wednesday, so his podium finish, his second of the year, was an impressive performance from the tough Australian rider. Foret pulled through from fifth after an imperfect start to overhaul early leaders Josh Brookes and Parkes, and after taking a firm grip on the lead on lap nine the winning result was never really in doubt. Parkes had a pretty lonely race after putting up a spirited defence of his early leading position, fighting with Brookes for much of the time. He finished only six seconds from victory, and five seconds ahead of the next best rider, Andrew Pitt. Foret’s win places him second in the championship on 71 points to Joan Lascorz’s 77, with Parkes third on 65. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) had a fighting ride at his home track, taking seventh after riding in a group of warring riders, looking for fourth place. Yamaha Spain rider Angel Rodriguez had a solid tenth place but his team-mate David Salom just missed out on a point again, going 16th for the second race in succession. Fabien Foret (1st – 29’38.261 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I am very pleased to win here. After a tough time in round one at Qatar, I needed points – but I also wanted to win. This was my race; I love this track. I was a bit nervous after problems with my start in previous races so I didn’t push it for a bit, but then it started to happen for me. I tried to push every lap from then on. There is still a long way to go in the championship but I am very happy with the win. A big thanks to the team!” Broc Parkes (3rd – +0’6.736 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I had an accident on my mountain bike a short while ago and my arm’s still quite sore. That made it very difficult today. It was good for the first half of the race, but then it just got harder and harder to push under braking and during changes of direction. Considering how things were a few days ago, I’m happy to take the points and move forward.” Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) “We are very happy of course with Fabien’s first win. He deserved it at the first race in Qatar, because he was fighting so hard for that first win in February, but it didn’t happen. He had the whole package to win today and he made the most of it. We took lots of points from Lascorz and the championship is open again. Broc had a brave and fast ride. He tried to pull away to let him relax a little on the final laps but he couldn’t, just because of his injured arm. A first and third today was a good result for the whole team.” Massimo Roccoli (7th- +0’11.757 – Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) “The race was not great and not bad, but for sure I could not get to the pace of the top three guys today, they were just too fast. I was a little disappointed not to get to the front of the group I was racing in at the finish.” Angel Rodriguez: (10th – +0’15.175 – Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) “Since yesterday I started to feel pain in my forearms. During the race, 6 or 7 laps to go, it was painful again so I settled for the 10th position. I didn’t want to risk another crash like Assen, today it was important to finish. I tried to follow Lascorz but he had a little more rhythm and escaped, but at the end we finished almost together. Everything has been OK, team and bike has worked well.” David Salom: (16th- +0’46.152 – Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) “I was fighting with a riders group and I couldn’t escape them. The rear tire slid a lot and it was impossible to find a rhythm. But anyway I think it would have been difficult to escape. In the last laps I was very slowly because we were fighting with each other so much.” Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 29’38.261 2, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0’1.199 3, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 0’6.736 4, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 0’11.398 5, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 0’11.477 6, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 0’11.716 7, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0’11.757 8, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 0’12.186 9, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 0’14.847 10, Angel Rodriguez, Yamaha, ESP, 0’15.175 11, Mark Aitchinson, Triumph, AUS, 0’21.256 12, Cristiano Migliorati, Kawasaki, ITA, 0’24.899 13, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0’25.077 14, Vesa Kallio, Honda, FIN, 0’25.160 15, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Kawasaki, JPN, 0’26.429 16, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 0’46.152 17, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 0’46.160 18, Mirko Giansanti, Honda, ITA, 0’46.192 19, Danilo Dell’omo, Honda, ITA, 0’46.262 20, Kev Coghlan, Honda, GBR, 0’46.327 21, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0’46.509 22, Santiago Barragan, Honda, ESP, 0’57.599 23, Gregory Leblanc, Honda, FRA, 0’58.057 24, William De Angelis, Honda, ITA, 0’58.415 25, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Honda, ITA, 1’11.614 26, Luka Nedog, Honda, SVN, 1’19.957 27, Gergo Talmacsi, Honda, HUN, 1’19.985 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 1’50.430 Rider Standings 11/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 77 2, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 71 3, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 65 4, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 63 5, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 63 6, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 49 7, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 41 8, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 39 9, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 28 10, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 26 11, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 25 12, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 20 13, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 20 14, Mark Aitchinson, Triumph, AUS, 20 15, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 19 19, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 8 Manufacturer Standings 11/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 115 2, Yamaha, 96 3, Triumph, 30 4, Kawasaki, 24 5, Suzuki, 19 More, from a press release issued by GIL Kawasaki: Fujiwara Gets A Point At Monza Monza, Italy, 11 May 2008 Katsuaki Fujiwara (GIL Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) managed to score a point for 15th at Monza, after finding problems holding a line during corner entries. Fujiwara Gets A Point At Monza Fujiwara was 21st on lap one but battled hard, despite having an imperfect set-up for the challenging Monza circuit. Chris Walker (GIL Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) had an incredibly dramatic race, being hit by another rider, crashing, re-starting, making on-the-move repairs and finally being penalised with a ride through for cutting one of Monza’s many chicanes. He retired in pit lane on lap five. Katsuaki Fujiwara: “It was difficult today. At the start of the race I felt good but when the front tyre got less grip the front fork doesn’t seem to stroke properly, so maybe this is our problem. In some places we lost ground on the corner entry and I could not get past some other riders.” Chris Walker: “I got hit from behind by another rider, then crashed, and that bent my footrest assembly. I realised that the footpeg itself was beginning to unwind and come loose. As I rode along I tried to turn it back in with my foot. I ran straight on at the chicane and got a ride-through penalty, so after that it was finished.” As World Supersport does not head to America for the next round, the Nürburgring, in Germany, will host round six of the WSS series, on June 14.