Superbike World Championship Misano Adriatico Race 2 1. Andrew Pitt (Yam YZF-R1), 40:18.671 2. Alex Barros (Hon CBR1000RR), 40:21.388 3. Noriyuki Haga (Yam YF-R1), 40:25.230 4. Chris Walker (Kaw ZX-10R), 40:25.771 5. Yukio Kageyama (Suz GSX-R1000), 40:25.771 6. Michel Fabrizio (Hon CBR1000RR), 40:32.587 7. Lorsenzo Lanzi (Duc 999F05), 40:32.587 8. James Tosland (Hon CBR1000RR), 40:33.736 9. Ruben Xaus (Duc 999F05), 40:34.105 10. Fabien Foret (Suz GSX-R1000), 40:39.250 11. Fonsi Nieto (Kaw ZX-10R), 40:40.111 12. Troy Bayliss (Duc 999F06), 40:42.088 13. Norike Abe (Yam YZF-R1), 40:44.759 14. Karl Muggeridge (Hon CBR1000RR), 40:44.759 15. Roberto Rolfo (Duc 999F05), 40:45.383 16. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Suz GSX-R1000), 40:52.227 17. Steve Martin (Petronas 40:53.437 18. Shinichi Naktomi (Yam YZF-R1), 40:56.077 19. Regis Laconi (Kaw ZX-10R), 40:58.817 20. Ivan Clementi (Duc 999RS), 41:06.012 21. Craig Jones (Petronas FP1), 41:18.213 22. Marco Borciani (Duc 999F05), 15 laps 23. Norine Brignola (Duc 999RS), 13 laps 24. Gianluce Nannelli (Hon CBR1000RR), 12 laps 25. Lorenzo Alfonsi (Duc 999RS), 11 laps 26. Josh Brookes (Kaw ZX-10R), 10 laps 27. Pierfrancesco Chili (Hon CBR1000RR), 9 laps 28. Troy Corser (Suz GSX-R1000), 7 laps 29. Sebastien Gimbert (Yam YZF-R1), 4 laps More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: TOSELAND ON THE PODIUM AND THE GRAVEL AFTER DRAMATIC MISANO RACES James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) added to his Misano Superpole win with a second place finish in the first 25-lap race of the afternoon, before misfortune struck on lap 18 of race two, and he ran onto the gravel while attempting to take the lead. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) had two tough races, starting from way down the field in the high temperatures experienced on raceday. In the first race Toseland led in the early laps, and despite being passed by eventual winner Bayliss, he held off the challenge of Corser, until Corser fell. A fine ride on an overheated track surface gave James his sixth podium finish of the year. Muggeridge was less fortunate in race one finishing 11th but fighting hard throughout, from a lowly 20th place start position. In race two Toseland ran on during one of the fastest sections of the track, and skilfully rejoined the race, despite dropping from second place to sixth. He would eventually finish eighth, after experiencing a problem with his tyres after running through the gravel. Muggeridge again had to contend with a packed midfield, but made progress from his start placing to finish 14th. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “In race one James did very, very well, but we are all obviously a bit disappointed for race two, because we saw James riding well again for most of the race. He looked like he was going to battle for the win until he ran off the track. Luckily he didn’t crash it, because at that point of the circuit it is very fast. He managed to hold on and get it back on track. He brought it back in with some points, but I think that we could all see that a win would be possible. With the way James has been riding, with the way the bike has been behaving around here, we have to be happy, but we are just a little bit less happy with the final result of race two. On Karl’s side we have had quite a bad weekend, we did not get the bike to work well and we didn’t have grip at all. Luckily we go testing so we can get him back on track here.” James Toseland Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Race 1: 2nd position Race 2: 8th position Championship Position: 3rd with 157 points) “I was slowly catching the leader Andrew Pitt and going round the hairpin and I was going to line him up to pass down the back straight. As I accelerated out of the hairpin, into third, then fourth, the track kinks left and the rear just came round and didn’t stop. So I went off into the gravel. After that the bike started to vibrate, like the tyre had moved on the rim, so the left-handers were very difficult. I am disappointed for the team and myself, because there was a possible race win. Pitt was riding very well, but if I didn’t run on we could have been second in the championship, not just third. I gave it my all this weekend, got pole position, second place in race one, and I am just going to try like this until the end.” Karl Muggeridge Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Race 1: 11th Race 2: 14th Championship Position: 14th with 52 points) “Off the start coming around for the first lap I was already something like ten seconds down, and just got boxed everywhere, every time, and then you have to ride with the crazies at that point. So they just try and ram up the inside every time. It was very hard and I had to use up my tyre to try and avoid them, so in the end I had no tyre left. We have a test at Lausitz now for three days and that will be very important for us.” CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING: 1. Bayliss – Ducati – 254 points 2. Haga – Yamaha – 160 points 3. Toseland – Winston Ten Kate Honda – 157 points 4. Corser – Suzuki – 149 points 5. Barros – Honda – 146 points 14. Muggeridge – Winston Ten Kate Honda – 52 points More, from a press release issued by FGSport: 2006 SBK CORONA EXTRA SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP® MISANO 6th ROUND 23rd, 24th and 25th JUNE 2006 RACE REPORT Misano, Sunday 25th June 2006 BAYLISS AND PITT SHARE MISANO WINS AFTER DRAMATIC AFTERNOON BAYLISS THE UNTOUCHABLE THEN PITT THE IMPERIOUS Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) rode to his eighth straight win of the 2006 season, before falling in race two, during an exceptionally dramatic race; deservedly won by Yamaha Motor Italia rider Andrew Pitt. With James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) second but Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) suffering a fall and retirement in the opener, Bayliss extended his championship lead significantly at that point. Corser was to also fall while leading race two, and drop from second in the table to fourth. Bayliss scored only four points for 12th in race two but still commands a handsome lead. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) is now second, with Bayliss on 254, Haga 160, James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 157 and Corser an unchanged 149. RACE ONE The first of two 25-lap races was held in temperatures of 28°C, and was taken in eventually convincing style by Bayliss, running clear of early leader and eventual second place man Toseland on lap 11. The winning margin was almost seven seconds. Toseland’s shadow, Corser, fell out of contention on lap 16, losing the front once more. Yukio Kagayama’s strong third place on his Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra machine was his first podium finish of the 2006 season. RACE TWO The second race saw all three of the previous race winners in 2006 so far, Corser, Bayliss and Toseland, either crash or run off the track while in podium positions. None could do much about the race long pace of Pitt, who scored his first ever World Superbike win in fine front-running style. Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda) was the best Honda rider in race two, second, despite an atrocious start, in contrast to his slick start in race one. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) had to give his all to beat Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) to the final podium slot after a classic man-to-man battle in the latter stages. Corser fell again, on lap eight, while leading Pitt. HOT COMPETITION AROUND THE MISANO MELTING POT With air temperatures into the low thirties and 25 lap races to complete all the riders knew that Misano would be a challenge, but this time round the formbook was consumed by fire. Barros scored fourth in race one, ahead of Haga and 2005 double race winner Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) one of a few riders who used a smaller width race tyre. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) went seventh, with the top ten rounded out by Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse), Ducati privateer Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Berik Ducati) and Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France Ipone) who recovered well from a disastrous qualifying. In the second race, littered with incident for the top riders, Kagayama scored fifth, with race one retiree Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda) sixth, one up on Lanzi, Toseland’s excursion off track left him eighth, with Xaus ninth and Alstare Engineering Suzuki rider Fabien Foret, a former Misano Supersport race winner, tenth. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) saw his lead diminished a little after he was forced to miss the Misano race, but in the reigning champion’s absence the remaining Supersport riders served up a sizzling competition, with the top prize finally awarded to WSS rookie Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia). He won by only 0.2 seconds from Simone Sanna (Megabike Honda) who was standing-in for the injured Katsuaki Fujiwara (Megabike Honda). Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) took a new Supersport lap record (1’37.628), and third place on the podium, promoting himself to overall third in the championship chase. Second in the table, but only sixth today, Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) fought off pre-race illness and and far-from ideal machine set-up to take sixth place. In the championship, Charpentier is on an unchanged 116, Curtain is on 86, with Parkes on 74, tied with Robbin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports Honda), who was fifth at Misano. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP Alessandro Polita (Celani Suzuki) extended his lead in the 1000cc Superstock division by scoring his third win of the year, taking his total points to 95. His win, over Ayrton Badovini (Biassono Unionbike MV Agusta) and Luca Scassa (EVR Corse Ormeni Racing) was another masterful display of riding, and he took a new lap record to boot, 1’37.526, on lap two. Badovini now sits on 68 points, with Scassa on 51. British-based Australian, Brendan Roberts, was fourth on his HP Racing Suzuki. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Xerox: BAYLISS EXTENDS UNBEATEN RUN TO EIGHT FOR DUCATI XEROX BEFORE TAKING A TUMBLE IN RACE 2 AT MISANO ADRIATICO – TWO SEVENTHS FOR LANZI Misano Adriatico (Italy), Sunday 25 June: Troy Bayliss extended his unbeaten run to eight at Misano Adriatico as the first race saw the Ducati Xerox Team rider take a superb win from seventh on the grid. With clinical efficiency Bayliss picked off the six riders ahead of him on the track one by one to take the lead on lap 11 and power to the 25 points. The second race of the day could have produced a similar result until Bayliss slid onto the grass on lap 17 while challenging for second place and then remounted to finish twelfth as Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) headed for his maiden WSBK win. With championship contender Troy Corser (Suzuki) crashing out twice, Bayliss now has a 94 point lead over Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) as the World Superbike Championship enters the second half of the season. “We are all very happy with the result but a dampener has been put on things because the Team’s warehouse guy Lorenzo Ghiselli lost his life in a road accident on Friday night so I’d like to dedicate this win to “Lollo” who will be sadly missed by everybody” declared Troy after race 1. “To be honest I really wanted to win the second race and after a mixed start it took me a long while to get into the rhythm. Then finally when I caught the guys the bike just didn’t feel as good as in the first race at the front and I stepped over the edge a bit. Maybe I should have settled for third, but I’m a racer and I wanted to keep the winning streak going. Now it’s broken but we increased our points lead from 76 to 94 so I’m happy for everyone and now we move on”. Lorenzo Lanzi had a difficult race 1 to finish seventh after starting from eighth on the grid. The result was the same in race two, seventh place, but the Italian’s performance was much improved as he put in a surge on the final lap to pass Toseland. “It was a great battle with James, but I really wanted to finish ahead of Fabrizio as I was constantly quicker than him” commented Lorenzo. “The last few laps I was one of the fastest guys out there but I got bogged down a bit because the bike wasn’t quite right in certain parts of the track. I really have to get better starts because I know I can stay up there with the guys in front as I proved last year. But I’ve got a great team around me; hopefully we can improve as quickly as possible because I want to get back to winning again”. “Pity, Troy was going very well and the crash happened when he wasn’t pushing that hard” declared Ducati Corse Director General Filippo Preziosi. “With his race 1 win he demonstrated to be the best rider out there and for this we are very proud of him and what he is doing in the championship. Lorenzo also contributed to the good result because he managed to pass Toseland on the last lap and take points away from a tough rival so a big thanks to him as well”. RACE 1: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox); 2. Toseland (Honda); 3. Kagayama (Suzuki); 4. Barros (Honda); 5. Haga (Yamaha); 6. Laconi (Kawasaki); 7. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox); etc. RACE 2: 1. Pitt (Yamaha); 2. Barros; 3. Haga; 4. Walker (Kawasaki); 5. Kagayama; 6. Fabrizio (Honda); 7. Lanzi; etc. POINTS: Riders – 1. Bayliss 254; 2. Haga 160; 3. Toseland 157; 4. Corser 149; 5. Barros 146; 6. Pitt 128; 7. Lanzi 80; etc. Manufacturers – 1. Ducati 260; 2. Honda 196; 3. Yamaha 189; 4. Suzuki 188; 5. Kawasaki 98; 6. Petronas 4. More, from a press release issued by Klaffi Honda: BRAVO, BRAVISSIMO ALEX! Starting position 11 in the third row no optimal conditions for the race and a great job for Alex Barros and his Klaffi Honda Fireblade! Team Klaffi Honda’s Brazilian rider came back from first lap on position 11th and immediately started his impressive fight. Alex fired up and passed Lanzi and Laconi. From lap 16 on he was 5th hunting Haga in front of him. And Alex came closer and closer to the Yamaha of the Japanese. Only two laps later Alex took him. Alex was 4th now and already had his sights on Kagayama and a podium. But then Alex lost a little bit speed. Haga used this opportunity and passed him in lap 21. But Alex didn’t give up. He was heading for position 4. In the lap before the last Alex attacked again and was 4th to cross the finishing line. – Winner was Bayliss in front of Toseland and Kagayama. Alex Barros: “Haga could only pass me because I had a little problem with the bike. When I opened the throttle it didn’t response as it normally has to do. It was not immediate and even but a little bit sporadic. So I had no choice. Haga passed me and I needed 2 laps to change my style. Then I catched him again. Now we have to check what the reason for this problem has been.” Superbike Race II: After a fourth place in the first race today things turned even better for Alex in the second heat! The riders had another 25 laps to go in the great heat of the Italian summer. Just after the start it was Corser to take the leading position in front of Pitt and Toseland. Alex was 12th before he passed Martin and Xaus in one lap. Now he was 10th and soon he overtook Xaus. Corser crashed and Alex was riding on 8th position. In the following battle for 6th Alex was winner against Kagayama. Bayliss and Toseland had a lot of bad luck. Both were on the gravel, entered the race again but lost there positions in the leading group. And Alex took his chance! The Brazilian approached closer and closer to Walker and Haga and passed both riders at a single blow. A great applause from the 61.000 spectators around the race track for Grande Alex! Andrew Pitt was still leading but in the six remaining laps Alex could cut on the gap. After a thrilling race Pitt took the win with gap of 2.717 to Alex Barros. More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: UNLUCKY DAY TODAY AT MISANO FOR SCUDERIA SC CARACCHI Not a lucky race day today at Misano for Scuderia SC Caracchi. During gara-1 the bike of Roberto Rolfo had jolt on the starting line and the Italian rider has been penalized for jumping start, this penalty consists that the rider is requested to ride trough the pit lane during the race respecting the speed limit, and then rejoin the start. Despite that Roby achieved a 15th place, the same position that he recorded in race-2. “Race-1 has been a good rece, despite the starting trouble when I’ve lost the clutch.” related Roberto Rolfo “After the ride trough penalty I had a good pace and recover to 15th place, with a point for the world championship. I must say that has been a positive race, because I roda always with a pace that could allowed me to stay just behind the leaders. On the contrary during race-2 everything was wrong, since the start because I remained in the group and at the first passage I was 4,5 seconds behind as well at the second I lost 3 seconds more. The bike was difficult to manage at the beginning, then improved but passing the Curvone Muggeridge went out in the grass and shot hardly some gravel on me. I suffered a hard pain that forced me to slow down, then passed, but I had anymore the concentration and the pace to recover positions. That’s a pity because I would get a good result on this home race and on the contrary I leave Misano with just a couple of points for the standing:” Luka Nedog had a good start, during the early laps earned several positions, but after eleventh laps he rejoined the pits because the bike became difficult to manage. “We decided to start with a tyre with a good grip and in which I was more confident.” said Luka Nedog “But with such hot track this tyre deteriorated quickly and the bike started to slide too much, so I preferred to stop. It’s a pity because in the early laps I was riding well, recording the same lap time as during the quallifying and I recovered some position too.” Stuart Easton decided to renounce to start for Friday’s crash consequences. “At the moment I had any pain.” said Stuart Easton “But last night I had a har pain at the right hip that didn’t allow me to slip so, agree with the team, I preferred renounce to start.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: KAGAYAMA TAKES MISANO PODIUM Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama had his best day of the World Superbike Championship year so far, grabbing a podium in the first race at today’s Misano sixth round and finishing fifth in race two. His third place in race one was by far his best result of the season and, but for tyre problems in race two, another podium would’ve been on the cards. In contrast, reigning Superbike World Champion Troy Corser had a day to forget: A crash in both races left him without any points to show and he has now slipped to fourth place in the championship. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) won the first race after storming though the field from his seventh place on the grid with James Toseland (Honda) second and Kagayama third. Corser led race two for the first seven laps and was looking comfortable until he ran wide avoiding cement dust in the final chicane and lost the front end. He tried to remount but saw that there was gravel and stones in the bike and it would’ve been pointless to carry on. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) took the chequered flag – his maiden Superbike World Championship win – with Alex Barros (Honda) second and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) third. Team Alstare Engineering rider Fabien Foret recorded his best results of the season, with a 13th in the first race and a 10th in the second. Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 5th: “I’m happy to be on the podium again because it has been such a long time – maybe six months! This season has been unlucky for me so I’m hoping that this is the start of a change of luck. I think I could’ve got another podium in the second race if it wasn’t for a tyre problem. I used the same bike and the same tyres but the feeling of the bike was not the same as the first race and I could not push as hard. The bike was sliding and wheel-spinning a lot more and so my lap times were not as good. Generally speaking, we have had a bit of a grip problem all season and I suppose that the very high temperatures here today did not help us at all. It was difficult to ride the bike today so I am happy to get a podium and a fifth.” Troy Corser – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: DNF: “I am very frustrated and disappointed today. The problems we had would’ve been solved if I had been able to take part in the recent Brno tests. Missing that test has hurt us a lot. In the first race the bike just jumped out of gear going in Querca corner and I was spat off the bike. I was pretty comfortable leading the second race but after about five laps the bike started jumping out of a gear a bit again and that made me a bit nervous in the turns. At the final chicane there was a lot of cement dust – put down from an earlier crash – and it was right on my line. In order to avoid it, I had to change my line and run a bit wide and, on one lap, I must’ve run a bit too wide and when I tried to make the turn again, the tyre ran out of grip and down I went. And that was the end of disastrous day!” Fabien Foret – Race 1: 13th, Race 2: 10th: “I’m happy today because I made some good results at last. It is always difficult getting good results when you start so low down the grid, so to get a 10th in the second race is particularly pleasing to me. Of course, if I had qualified better, I would’ve had a better chance of finishing even higher up then I did. In race one I had a little fuel problem – the bike stuttered a bit when it was leant over. In race two, I was very happy with the front end feeling and I enjoyed that race a lot. There were a lot of slides and wheelspin and Misano was not so easy today, but I’m happy.” Race 1: Bayliss (AUS-Ducati); 2 Toseland (GBR-Honda); 3 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra); 4 Barros (BRA- Honda); 5 Haga (JPN-Yamaha); 6 Laconi (FRA-Kawasaki); 7 Lanzi (ITA-Ducati); 8 Nieto (ESP-Kawasaki); 9 Xaus (ESP-Ducati); 10 Abe (JPN-Yamaha), 13 Fabien Foret (FRA-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra). Troy Corser (AUS-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF. Race 2: 1 Pitt (AUS-Yamaha); 2 Barros (BRA-Honda); 3 Haga (JPN-Yamaha); 4 Walker (GBR-Kawasaki); 5 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra); 6 Fabrizio (ITA-Honda); 7 Lanzi (ITA-Ducati); 8 Toseland (GBR-Honda); 9 Xaus (ESP-Ducati); 10 Fabien Foret (FRA-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra). Troy Corser (AUS-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF. World Championship Points: 1 Bayliss 254; 2 Haga 160; 3 Toseland 157; 4 Corser (AUS- Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 149; 5 Barros 146; 6 Pitt 128; 7 Lanzi 80; 8 Xaus 70; 9 Walker 64; 10 Nieto 61. 12 Kagayama (JPN-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 56; 17 Foret (FRA-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 19. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: ROUND 6 MISANO ADRIATICO, ITALY RACE REVIEW Misano Adriatico (Italy) Sun and intense heat were the main factors for the riders to deal with at the second Italian round of the season. Misano remains an important and well loved weekend for everyone involved in SBK racing, in every class. There was much excitement in the paddock and the usual level of enthusiasm you find at any Italian race meeting. A special weekend, above all because Pirelli has introduced, in the Supersport category, the Diablo Supercorsa, a new tyre range which was immediately appreciated by all the riders. Toseland was fastest in Superpole, the competition which determines pole position in Superbike. The English rider used his rear Pirelli qualifying tyre to perfection, to make a 1’33.833, ahead of Troy Corser and Andrew Pitt. Completing the front row was Steve Martin on the Petronas. It was a front row which confirmed one thing: Pirelli tyres, designed in conjunction with development input from all the manufacturers who participate in the championship, perform well on any motorcycle. Thus, on the front row, we had Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Petronas machinery. A little lower than usual on the grid was Troy Bayliss, seventh, but with a very good race set-up already worked out. Race1: At the green light, Toseland took an immediate lead, from Haga and Corser. With each passing lap Troy Bayliss got closer to the front of the field, and thanks to the hot weather the pace was fast at the start. In an incredibile development, Troy Corser fell and the race would be between Bayliss and Toseland. There were different choices for the combatants; the 200mm rear, in the “A” (soft) compound seemed best, but Bayliss opted for a harder compound on the rear, with Toseland running a softer compound. Bayliss fianlly passed Toseland for the victory; Kagayama was the winner of a podium duel with first Haga and then Barros, taking his first podium of the year. Notwithstanding his choice of a softer rear tyre, Toseland did not suffer any great ill-effects in the hot temperatures, proving that either a soft or a hard tyre was ready to take on the challenge of Misano. This race offered up extremes of temperature, but the race offered up many interesting developments.: Troy Bayliss started from seventh, and like many of his competitors he set a fast pace, taking the fastest lap of the race on the fourth lap, only two tenths slower than the previous lap record, set on prototype tyres in 2002. Three different manufacturers were present on the podium: Ducati, Honda and Suzuki. Whether for two-cylinders or four-cylinders: the technical solutions, the tyres developed in conjunction with the development teams, made for another race meeting where all the riders and machines put on a sensational display, resulting in races which were enjoyed by the spectators. Race2: In race two the track surface reached 50°, and with 25 laps of the track facing the riders, it required great stamina from them all. The pilots had to suffer in the sun, but also the machines, the riders and the sun-bleached spectators, (61,000 over the whole hot and sunny weekend). The race delivered a multitude of interesting developments, lots of thrills – and many mistakes. The pilots had already proved the worth of their tyres in race one, using a new 200 section “big tyre” on the rear, and most of the top riders went for “A” soft front. It was not for everyone and the two Ducati Xerox riders chose a (C), and Alex Barros the (B). Corser, desperate to rescue his day after a no score in race one, set off into the lead but seven laps into the race he fell and had to retire from race two as well. Pitt was now in command, followed by Toseland and Bayliss. The three riders delivered a fantastic spectacle, but first Troy (on the 17th lap) and then James (on the 18th) made errors and found themselves off the track. Both re-entered the race, but lost several positions, and Pitt was left in command of an even bigger lead. Yamaha thus had its first win of the year and had two riders, Pitt and Haga on the podium. Haga finished behind Barros, who rode his Honda to an impressive second after a slow start. Bayliss finished 12th, interrupting his winning streak, but still managing to increase his championship lead.