FIM Superbike World Championship Brno, Czech Republic July 23 Race Two Results: 1. Yukio Kagayama (Suz GSX-R1000), 20 laps, 40:31.118 2. Michel Fabrizio (Hon CBR1000RR), -2.431 seconds 3. Noriyuki Haga (Yam YF-R1), -2.479 seconds 4. Troy Corser (Suz GSX-R1000), -2.514 seconds 5. James Tosland (Hon CBR1000RR), -4.939 seconds 6. Fonsi Nieto (Kaw ZX-10R), -5.070 seconds 7. Karl Muggeridge (Hon CBR1000RR), -7.932 seconds 8. Troy Bayliss (Duc 999F06), -15.441 seconds 9. Lorsenzo Lanzi (Duc 999F05), -15.755 seconds 10. Chris Walker (Kaw ZX-10R), -17.461 seconds 11. Alex Barros (Hon CBR1000RR), -21.547 seconds 12. Norike Abe (Yam YZF-R1), -22.052 seconds 13. Shinichi Naktomi (Yam YZF-R1), -22.102 seconds 14. Ruben Xaus (Duc 999F05), -26.983 seconds 15. Sebastien Gimbert (Yam YZF-R1), -29.549 seconds 16. Regis Laconi (Kaw ZX-10R), -32.056 seconds 17. Roberto Rolfo (Duc 999F05), -37.287 seconds 18. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Suz GSX-R1000), -39.376 seconds 19. Steve Martin (Petronas FP1), -44.031 seconds 20. Fabien Foret (Suz GSX-R1000), -47.369 seconds 21. Craig Jones (Petronas FP1), -47.742 seconds 22. Jiri Drazdak (Yam YZF-R1), -70.029 seconds 23. Berto Camlek (Yam YZF-R1), -102.455 seconds 24. Milos Cihak (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, DNF, mechanical 25. Andrew Pitt (Yam YZF-R1), -4 laps, DNF, mechanical 26. Josh Brookes (Kaw ZX-10R), -5 laps, DNF, mechanical 27. Pawel Szkopek (Duc 999RS), -10 laps, DNF, mechanical 28. Pierfrancesco Chili (Hon CBR1000RR), -12 laps, DNF, mechanical 29. Ivan Clementi (Duc 999RS), -13 laps, DNF, crash 30. Marco Borciani (Duc 999F05), -15 laps, DNF 31. Jiri Mrkyvka (Duc 999RS), -17 laps, DNF,mechanical FIM superbike World Championship Point Standings (After 14 of 24 races): 1. Bayliss, 262 points 2. Haga, 189 points 3. Tosleand, 188 points 4. Corser, 173 points 5. Barros, 151 points 6. Pitt, 128 points 7. Kagayama, 106 points 8. Lanzi, 87 points 9. Fabrizio, 83 points 10. Nieto, 81 points 11. Walker, 79 points 12. Xaus, 72 points 13. Abe, 71 points 14. Muggeridge, 66 points 15. TIE, Rolfo/Laconi, 52 points 17. Nakatomi, 29 points 18. Foret, 19 points 19. Chili, 16 points 20. Gimbert, 15 points More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: TOSELAND TAKES A PODIUM AFTER DRAMATIC RACE WEEKEND James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) scored a second place and a fifth to finish an eventful weekend for the 2004 World Champion in strong points scoring style. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) made a front tyre swap on race two to improve from 11th in race one to seventh. A bizarre start to the day saw the morning warm-up session stopped the restarted twice for crashes and oil spills, the first of which saw Toseland taken out by a wild card rider, who was later disqualified for cruising on the racing line. Toseland’s avoiding action almost succeeded, but he clipped the errant rider, damaging the engine so badly that oil escaped from a hole in the crankcase, spitting Toseland off and forcing a lot of work for the Ten Kate mechanics to make the start of race one. In the first race Toseland led for fully 14 laps, but could not resist the challenge of eventual winner Yukio Kagayama. Muggeridge, who started well from eighth on the grid, dropped through the order in the hot conditions, to finish 11th. In race two, Toseland looked on for his second podium finish, running second until the 14th lap, then dropping to fifth, with grip and traction problems on right hand corners. Muggeridge fought hard for seventh place, only seven seconds from the win. In the championship James made ground on leader Troy Bayliss, and now sits third, 74 points behind the Ducati rider, and a single point behind Noriyuki Haga. Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager All in all, we have to be quite happy with the results that James had today, especially looking to the championship standings. We have opened a bit of a gap over some other competitors behind us, but more importantly we have closed the gap in front of us. That’s the good side of things. I must admit Sunday started really badly for us. A horror accident in the morning warm-up for sure didn’t help. James’ number one bike was wrecked in that incident, including the engine. So we had to swap to the number two bike for the whole day. There is not a huge difference, but even a small difference is enough to move you up a couple of places anyway, with the field being as strong as it is. I’m happy that we can move onto Brands Hatch after this and for sure the motivation of James will be full on. The first race for Karl was a difficult one, and he struggled a lot, and in race two he decided to go for the same front as James was using. Apparently that was a good choice. He kept his times pretty consistent and there was only a small gap to the front. Hopefully it will give us something to work on for Karl.” James Toseland – SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Race 1: 2nd position – Race 2: 5th position – Championship Position: 3rd with 188 points) “It was good to get a podium in race one but there was nothing I could do when Kagayama went past me. It was strange in race two, because later in the race I was having trouble with grip on the rights, both front and rear. The little bit higher temperature in the second race made the difference, and I made a couple of silly mistakes. It was a difficult weekend; to have a crash just before Superpole and then a collision this morning. So in some ways I’m happy the way things worked out – but we could have taken advantage of Bayliss having a bad weekend a bit more than we did. But we’ll keep chipping away.” Karl Muggeridge – SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Race 1: 11th – Race 2: 7th – Championship Position: 14th with 66 points) “In race one we didn’t have on the right front tyre I think. In race two, until lap ten, all was OK, then the grip on the corner exits started to drop off, the bike wanted to move around and it was more difficult to control. After 16 laps it got a bit worse again and just kept the bike up to finish the race. I’m not too satisfied with the results but at least we have scored two races in the points.” CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING: 1. Bayliss – Ducati – 262 points 2. Haga – Yamaha – 189 points 3. Toseland – Winston Ten Kate Honda – 188 points 4. Corser – Suzuki – 173 points 5. Barros – Honda – 151 points 14. Muggeridge – Winston Ten Kate Honda – 66 points More, from a press release issued by Team Yamaha Motor France – Ipone: The 3 riders 2 times in the top 15! For the first time ever in the history of the Superbike World Championship, the 3 riders of a single team earn points in both races. Norick Abe, Shinichi Nakatomi and Sebastien Gimbert did a great job which proves their qualities and also these of the technicians and the Yamaha R1s of the Team Yamaha Motor France Ipone. In race 1, Norick Abe was 13th after lap 1, Shinichi Nakatomi 16th and Sebastien Gimbert 18th. Then the 3 riders progressed and at half distance Abe was 10th, Nakatomi 11th and Gimbert 14th. They kept on trying hard and Nakatomi finished 8th, Abe 9th and Gimbert 13th. In race 2, after the first lap Abe was 17th, Gimbert 19th and Nakatomi 20th. Like in the previous race, the 3 riders went as fast as they could, with Abe 14th at half distance, Nakatomi 16th and Gimbert 17th. At the chequered flag, Abe finished 12th, Nakatomi 13th and Gimbert 15th. This is a great satisfaction for the team which has the opportunity to prove its qualities, despite the enormous workload for providing the equipment and the logistics for three riders. Shinichi Nakatomi: “I am very happy. My 8th position in race 1 is my best ever result in the World Championship. Race 2 was not as good as I made a mistake in the 1st curve and dropped to 25th. Then I had a good fight with many riders. I was passing some at every lap, event if it was difficult with Ruben Xaus. I had a hard time finishing the race because my rear tyre was spinning a lot.” Norick Abe: “I am not that happy because I usually look for a top 5 position. I had the same problem all weekend long, which is a lack of grip at the rear wheel. We tried so many different settings! Anyhow, I did my best.” Sebastien Gimbert: “I am happy with my weekend. Like everybody, I lacked grip. For race 2, we changed some settings and the road holding was not as good, but this is racing. I am still happy because it is the first time this year that I earn points in both races.” Martial Garcia (team manager): “It feels good, we needed that. It shows the quality of the kit parts and of the tuning. We had the 2nd top speed. The temperature was very hot and we managed better than some top teams. We did some good lap times by the end of the races, close to the ones of the leading riders. Our riders always tried very hard and passed some well known riders. This is for us a positive weekend.” More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: KAGAYAMA DOUBLES UP AFTER HOT RACES AT BRNO – KAGAYAMA THE MASTER AT CLASSIC CZECH TRACK After a resurgent burst of form at the previous round in Misano, Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) scored two wins, in similar fashion, at the 5.403km Brno circuit, to take his first SBK double win. He got back to winning ways after running down long time leader James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) in race one, then repeating it even more impressively in race two, when he hunted down Superpole winner Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) to score a second magnificent 20-lap victory. Another candidate for rider of the day was Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda) who scored his first two podium finishes since his promotion from World Supersport. In a nightmare raceday for championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox), he tangled with Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) in race one, and fell from contention at the first corner. A strong start in the second leg gave him only an eighth place finish. He lost ground to both Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) and Toseland in the championship chase, and now has a total of 262 points, with Haga on 189 and Toseland on 188. RACE ONE An astounding contest for the final podium place, behind the clear eventual winner Kagayama and second place rider Toseland, was taken by SBK rookie rider, Michel Fabrizio, all despite a recently broken shoulder. Kagayama claimed his first win of the year after sitting behind long-time leader Toseland and then making a break with six laps to go. Fabrizio, only fifth on the penultimate lap, took both Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) and Haga on the final circuit, to score third, with Haga fourth and Corser fifth. Championship leader Bayliss retired after tangling with Laconi at turn one, after Laconi had been forced wide. Toseland was lucky to make the start of the first race at all, after a collision with a backmarker in morning warm-up trashed his number one engine and chassis. The backmarker was cruising on the racing line, and Toseland’s avoiding action, despite being committed to the corner, meant that they only hit a hard glancing blow, and not something even more serious. An oil leak and subsequent crash from a privateer’s machine in the morning warm-up restart caused another halt to proceedings, postponing the start of the Superstock 1000 race to the last race of the day. RACE TWO With Kagayama finally away and clear, Fabrizio completed the most dramatic last corner double pass imaginable, forcing past Corser and then holding Haga to the white line on the outside of the corner exit, to score his second career podium in SBK, just a few hours after his first. Only 0.173 seconds separated Fabrizio in second with Corser in fourth, in what was an all-time classic finish that brought Sunday’s portion of the 41,000 weekend crowd on the edge of their seats. Toseland took fifth, having difficulty getting into and out of right hand corners. PITT RETIRES IN TWO RACES AS NIETO SCORES TWO SIXTHS Misano race winner Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) had to retire from the leading pack twice, with a recurring misfire on his raceday machine. Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) felt he had learned more in this SBK day than in any other, running with the leading riders almost throughout each race. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) swapped a front tyre specification between races and went from 11th to seventh. Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) had two points scoring rides, in seventh and 10th. YAMAHA RIDERS ON RECORD FORM For the first time in SBK history all three Yamaha Motor France Ipone riders finished each race in the points, with rookie rider Shinichi Nakatomi scoring the single best result, eighth in race one, ahead of his team-mate, Norick Abe, with Sebastien Gimbert 13th. In race two Abe went 12th, with Nakatomi 13th and Gimbert 15th. Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) scored no points today, as he finished race two only 16th. Klaffi Honda rider Alex Barros suffered from a tucking front end and an overheated engine as he retired from race one, but he scored a few points for 11th place in race two. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) followed up his Superpole triumph with his first race win of the season in Supersport. His main championship challenger, current leader Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda), lost ground with a lowly 11th place finish. Charpentier now leads Curtain by only ten points, with the Brands Hatch round coming in two weekends’ time. Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) was an assured second, and a resurgent Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) third, but unable to take any points from Charpentier’s main pursuers. Yoann Tiberio (Megabike Honda) was fourth, Gianluca Vizziello fifth on his Yamaha team Italia machine. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP In a much delayed Superstock 1000 contest, the shortened seven lap race was won by Ayrton Badovini (Biassono Unionbike MV Agusta) making history for the Italian marque. Luca Scassa (EVR Corse Ormeni racing MV Agusta) scored second while Richard Cooper (MS Racing Honda) took his CBR to a well-earned third. In the championship standings, long term leader Alessandro Polita (Celani Suzuki) remains top, despite a crash and no score today, as Badovini moved to within two points of him. Scassa is third, with 71. SUPERSTOCK 600 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Xavier Simeon (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) scored his third win in five races to extend his lead in the Superstock 600 series. He now heads overall second place rider Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Xerox) by 34 points, 115 to 81. Canepa was also second in the race itself, with Andrea Antonelli (Junior Team Italia) third. More, from a press release issued by Ductai Corse: DISAPPOINTING DAY FOR DUCATI XEROX TEAM AT BRNO Brno (Czech Republic), Sunday 23 July: Ducati Xerox Team riders Troy Bayliss and Lorenzo Lanzi had two below-par races in the seventh round of the World Superbike Championship at Brno today. Bayliss was eliminated by Régis Laconi in a first-corner first-lap incident in the opening counter, while Lanzi struggled with lack of grip in his front tyre and had to come into the pits for a change. Both riders then suffered with severe lack of grip in the second race and could only manage eighth and ninth. Troy Bayliss’s lead in the championship with five rounds remaining is now 73 points. “The whole day had been going to plan up until the first corner and I guess you could say it was one of those racing incidents” explained Troy. “Pitty got in a little hot and bumped into me which pushed me wide. Régis had already gone wide and then ran into me as well, down I went and that was my morning over. Like I said before you never know with racing what’s around the corner. In the second race I had to work harder than to have a win but I only lost four points and I have to take it on the chin and move on. Lorenzo gave me a place at the end and you never know a point could be important at the end of the year. I put a softer tyre on for race 2 but after two laps my grip was going down and I had to ride it home, but even that was a struggle.” “We had been protagonists all weekend and had set quickest time in the morning warm-up. There was just time for a bit of relaxation and ….then two races to forget” declared Lorenzo. “For the second race I had managed to sort out the front but then I had problems with the rear. Me and my team are a bit disappointed to say the least. We worked hard as always, we were looking good on the front row and ready for two good races. The conditions were the same as yesterday, the same as in the tests, I don’t know what else I can say. Now let’s move onto the next round and hopefully things will be better at Brands Hatch.” More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: BAD DAY AT BRNO FOR SCUDERIA SC CARACCHI (Brno 2006, July 23) Also the racing day at Brno has not been brilliant for Scuderia SC Caracchi. In Supersport the team’s riders both ended their race in the gravel after a fet seconds after the start, while in Superbike Roberto Rolfo finished 12th in race-1 after a good recovering race, but in race-2, where he had a poor start, has not been able to grab the points. For Superbike the day started subit in the wrong way, because the morning’s warm up has been actually pointless to look for a better set up, because it has been stopped twice with red flag, that a more professional way to do by race marshals coud avoid stopping the riders which bike were in difficult. “That’s been a quite disappointing day today.” confessed at the end of the day Roberto Rolfo. “We would try for a better setting in the morning, but that has been impossible. So I went on with the same problems of the whole week end. At race-1 start I got a good start and at the first split I was already in 14th place, then I could recover some position finishing 12th . In race-2, on the contrary, I’ve been closed at the start and at the end of the first lap I was in 20th position, more as six seconds behind the leader. There was any possibility to pass the riders in front of me and the race ended like it started, that’s been a great disappointment.” Heavy bad day in Supersport, wher the two 749R Ducatis Scuderia SC Caracchi stay in race just a few meters. Stuart Easton received a touch on his rear tyre in the general crash at the first corner, while Luka Nedog, crashed also during the morning’s warm up, lose the front in the middle of the first lap. More, from a press release issued by Team Klaffi Honda: The race weekend at Brno was not as successful for Alex Barros as expected. The extreme temperatures and position 15 in the starting grid didn’t made things easier for him. But Alex attacked from the first second on. He did an excellent start in the first heat and was already 11th after the first lap. Alex opened the throttle, pushing forwards but he had no good luck. A problem with his front wheel occurred. It became more and more difficult to control the bike. No chance for Alex to ride on. He had to retire after only six laps. – Kagayama was the first to cross the checkered flag in front of Toseland and Fabrizio. In the second heat things turned out better for Alex. After a tough race he finished 11th. Winner of the second race was Kagayama again in front of Fabrizio and Haga. Alex Barros: “The whole weekend was really disappointing and it took out my oxygen. It did my best, the starts have been okay but it was not possible to achieve better results. In the first heat I had some very bad moments. I nearly lost the control of the front wheel and I had to manage to avoid a crash. So I hope things will be better at Brands Hatch.” More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing: Jones shows progress for Foggy PETRONAS Racing at Brno Craig Jones enjoyed his best race day on the PETRONAS FP1 when he finished 17th and 21st in the seventh round races of the Superbike World Championship at Brno, Czech Republic. Foggy PETRONAS Racing team-mate Steve Martin’s run of bad luck continued when another mechanical problem ended his first race after just three laps, but he persevered in the second race to finish 19th. With championship leader Troy Bayliss managing one eighth place finish, Yukio Kagayama secured his first double win but rookie Italian Michel Fabrizio stole the show with two stunning rides to clinch two podium finishes from 12th on the grid. Craig was fighting for his first championship point before a gearbox problem on the last few laps of the first race ended that challenge and caused him to drop back one place to 17th. Despite problems with the gear position sensor in race two, he lapped a second faster on average and reduced the gap to Kagayama by 20 seconds. He said: “I have made more progress here than I have anywhere else and it is a shame that I wasn’t able to qualify as well as I could have done. But I have closed the gap on Steve and the weekend has given me a lot of confidence going into the next round at Brands Hatch, where I will be aiming for Superpole and to score some points. I was doing consistent laps at the start of race two but needed to push harder and then started to chip away at those in front until the gear position sensor stopped working. I was also disappointed that the gearbox problem at the end of race one potentially cost me my first championship point.” Steve’s first race began badly with a fire on the bike on the grid, which resulted in him starting the race from the back of the grid on his spare bike. After a good start his gear lever broke and then the bike started to seize up after three laps, forcing him to pull in. He said: “With so many riders failing to finish the first race this was a good opportunity to score good points, so I am very disappointed. In the second race I was losing the front everywhere from the start of the race, so I just had to settle down and ride around to finish the race.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama took his first ever World Superbike double victory at Brno in the Czech Republic today. In race one he stalked leader James Toseland (Honda) for 14 laps before making his move, and from them on in, he was never headed, taking the chequered flag by nearly four seconds. Michel Fabrizio (Honda) took third after passing both Noriyuki Haga and Yukio’s team mate Troy Corser in the final two laps: Reigning World Champion Corser suffered grip problems throughout the 20-lapper but still managed to finish fifth just behind Haga. Kagayama had to work much harder in race two but, after fighting his way up from eighth, he charged past Haga just two laps from the end to take his second win of the day. Second was Fabrizio, who had been in fourth place on the last lap, but then barged his way through Haga and Corser with less than two turns remaining. When Fabrizio made his move, Corser was forced to pick up his bike otherwise he would have collided with Fabrizio and Haga, as he would’ve been taken out as well. Haga ended up an angry third, with a very frustrated Corser fourth. Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: 1st, Race 2: 1st: “I am so happy today and I want to thank my team for all the great work they have done. Also, thank you to Batta-san, who is not here today, but I hope was watching on TV. In both races, I had to use patience – and this is not my normal style – but it was worth it. I was close to Toseland from the start of race one so it was just a case of waiting to make my move at the right time and my plan worked perfectly. “The second race was much more difficult because I had to pass many riders before I could attack the leader – my friend Nori-chan. In the closing stages of the race he knew that I was faster than him and he very kindly waved me through. After that I just concentrated on keeping a good pace and not making any mistakes. I have always thought of myself as a little crazy, but today I showed another side of Yukio. Maybe this will be my new style for the rest of the season!” Troy Corser – Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 4th: “Considering what position we were in on Friday and even Saturday morning, I guess that a fourth and a fifth is not too bad, but I’m not at all happy. I had some grip problems in the first race so we changed the balance and front and rear ride height for race two. It was a bit better but, because it was more or less Yukio’s set-up, it took me a while to get used to it – and by that time the leaders were gone. I managed to reel them back in and I thought that I’d get at least a third or maybe a second. I got past Haga and into second, but then Fabrizio came along with a couple of desperate moves. Honestly, if I hadn’t picked up my bike when he tried to make his move, I would’ve hit him and we’d both gone down, taking Nori with us as he was so close at the time. There’s racing and there’s desperation. He’s a young kid, but it could’ve ended very badly. After I had crossed the line in race two, I was so frustrated that I was sick – but luckily I opened my helmet first!” Fabien Foret – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 20th: “After Superpole, I really thought that I could get a couple of good top-10 finishes today. In race one, everything was ok for the first five laps and then I crashed! It took place at the same place where Toseland had crashed in the morning warm-up today and there was a lot of dust down to clear up the oil that had been spilled. Maybe I just hit some oil that hadn’t been cleared up properly – I don’t know. It was a slow speed fall so I didn’t hurt myself, but it was a very disappointing and early end to the race. “In race two, my bike started feeling strange after a lap or so. It was juddering or something like that and I just couldn’t push hard at all. I should’ve pulled in, but I wanted to keep going and see if I could score any points. When riders overtook me, I couldn’t do anything about it and so I finished outside the points. It turned out that the tyre was spinning on the rim and that was causing the problem.” World Superbike Results: Race 1: 1 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 Toseland (GB-Honda), 3 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 4 Haga (J-Yamaha), 5 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 6 Nieto (E-Kawasaki), 7 Walker (GB-Kawasaki), 8 Nakatomi (J-Yamaha), 9 Abe (J-Yamaha), 10 Chili (I-Honda). Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) DNF. Race 2: 1 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 Fabrizio, 3 Haga, 4 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 5 Toseland, 6 Nieto, 7 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda), 8 Bayliss, 9 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 10 Walker. 20 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra). Points: 1 Bayliss 262, 2 Haga 189, 3 Toseland 188, 4 Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 173, 5 Barros 151, 6 Pitt 128, 7 Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 106, 8 Lanzi 87, 9 Fabrizio 83, 10 Nieto 81. 18 Fabien Foret (Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 19. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: FABRIZIO TAKES FIRST CAREER PODIUMS AS TOSELAND SCORES SECOND Both James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) and Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda CBR1000RR) took podium finishes at the 5.403km Brno circuit, with Toseland second in race one, and Fabrizio – an SBK rookie – taking third in the opener and an astonishing second in race two. Race one was led by Toseland for 14 laps, until eventual winner Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) set a pace Toseland’s tyres could not longer match. Toseland ran out an assured second, matching his Superpole performance, but arguably the ride of the race came from recently injured Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda CBR1000RR), who had recently broken his collarbone while riding in the MotoGP race at Donington. The young Italian rider passed two competitors on the last lap to take third, after a mid race charge from his qualifying position of 12th. Pierfrancesco Chil (DFX Treme Honda CBR1000RR) went tenth (improving from 16th and last in Superpole) ahead of a fading Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) who took points for 11th place, after placing eighth in Superpole. Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR) underlined an unhappy practice and Superpole qualifying, which put him only 15th on the grid, by retiring on lap nine, complaining of a lack of front grip and overheating problems. Toseland’s possible podium in race two dwindled to as he found right hand corners increasingly difficult to enter and exit, and he clung onto a fifth place. After another blitz through the field, Fabrizio set up a true grandstand finish by overtaking both Troy Corer and Noryuki Haga in the space of the final chicane, making for one of the most forceful finishes in World Superbike history. Kagayama took the second race win, 2.4 seconds clear of Fabrizio. Championship leader Troy Bayliss suffered a crash in race one, after a first corner collision, and dropped from a probably fourth to eighth, as the hot 52°C track temperatures took their toll. His disappointment was Toseland’s partial gain, as he made ground to the lead. Bayliss sits on 262, Haga on 189 and Toseland – third by a single point – on 188. Toseland, having suffered a series of misadventures over race weekend, was philosophical about the way it ended, and glad to have made up ground to Bayliss. “It was good to get a podium in race one but there was nothing I could do when Kagayama went past me,” said Toseland. “It was strange in race two, because later in the race I was having trouble with grip on the rights, both front and rear. The little bit higher temperature in the second race made the difference, and I made a couple of silly mistakes. It was a difficult weekend; to have a crash just before Superpole and then a collision this morning. So in some ways I’m happy the way things worked out – but we could have taken advantage of Bayliss having a bad weekend a bit more than we did. But we’ll keep chipping away.” For Fabrizio, now ninth in the championship, his last lap move in race two was one laden with risk, and eventual joy, but being in a position to score podiums was largely down to a recent Brno tyre test. “It was important to test in June with DFX at Brno,” said Fabrizio. “After five or six laps of race one I had some problems with grip but my race pace was OK, so when I saw the others in front I thought ‘let’s push to try and take them.’ Something just clicked in my head that I could catch them. For my riding style, when the tyres slide it is better for me. Same thing happened in race two, but when I saw Corser and Haga in front right at the end I thought it would be possible to overtake them.” Muggeridge, 14th overall in the series, felt that his change between race one and two paid off, but still had to fight for every place. “In race one we didn’t have on the right front tyre I think,” said Muggeridge. “In race two, until lap ten, all was OK, then the grip on the corner exits started to drop off, the bike wanted to move around and it was more difficult to control. After 16 laps it got a bit worse again and just kept the bike up to finish the race. I’m not too satisfied with the results but at least we have scored two races in the points.” Chili felt that his physical condition was responsible for him pulling in on race two, leaving him 19th in the championship chase. “In race one I was happy enough, despite the drop of in grip as the tyres got hot,” said Chili. “In race two I was very tired but my right hand started to freeze and cramp up, stopping me braking properly, so I decided to pull in.” Barros had a disastrous weekend by his recent high standards, feeling ill from day one, and experiencing problems in the races. He dropped points to the other top riders, and now sits on 151, in fifth place. “The whole weekend was really disappointing and it took all my energy,” said Barros, 11th in race two. “I did my best, the starts were OK, but it was not possible to achieve better results. In the first race I had some very bad moments with the front and had to work hard to not crash.” Brands Hatch hosts the next WSS and SBK rounds, between 4 and 6 August. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: FRUSTRATED TROY MISSES OUT A PODIUM After a difficult Friday and Saturday morning, Troy’s race prospects were not looking good. On Saturday afternoon, he was so fed up with being unable to find a good set-up for the Brno circuit, he decided to use his team mate Yukio’s set-up instead. In the first race, although the bike felt more comfortable, Troy still suffered with a lack of grip throughout the 20-lapper, but kept pushing as hard as he could and ended fifth. Troy’s team mate Yukio Kagayama won the race after a long battle with James Toseland (Honda). Third went to Michel Fabrizio (Honda) who had charged past Troy and Haga (Yamaha) with just two laps to go. In race two Troy, started a bit tentatively, but then upped his pace to get with the leaders Kagayama and Haga with three laps to go. He dived past Haga on the last lap, but a reckless move by Fabrizio two corners from the end almost took Troy and Haga out. If Troy hadn’t picked up his bike, all three would’ve gone down. To compound the matter, Fabrizio then contrived to hit Haga as he tried to squeeze through a gap that wasn’t there. Kagayama took the win – to make it his first WSBK double – and somehow Fabrizio managed to take second, ahead of Haga and Troy. TROY – Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 4th On Friday and Saturday morning we were lost and didn’t really know which direction would be the best for us. So we took Yukio’s set-up and started working with it. It was definitely better then anything we’d tried, but I guess that’s because Yukio tested here for three days and I didn’t – thanks to being ill at the time. So, maybe fourth and a fifth is not too bad, – it’s certainly better then anything I’d hope for on Saturday morning! But I’m not at all satisfied this weekend. I had some grip problems in the first race, so we changed the balance and front and rear ride height for race two. It was an improvement for sure but, because it was more or less Yukio’s set-up, it took me a while to get used to it and by then the leaders were gone. As I began to get more familiar with how the bike was working, I was able to push harder and I started reeling in the lead group. At that point, I really thought that I’d be able to get at least a third or maybe a second. I passed Haga to go second briefly, but suddenly Fabrizio appeared and made a couple of desperate moves. If I hadn’t picked up my bike when he made his move I would’ve hit him and we’d both gone down, taking Nori (Haga) with us as well. There’s racing and there’s desperation. And that was definitely desperation. I know he’s a young kid, but it could’ve all ended very badly. He’s lucky that both Nori and I saw him and lifted our bikes up, or it would’ve been a disaster. That happened in the last two turns of the last lap, so neither Nori nor I had time to respond, but I can tell you that I was gutted. After I had crossed the line I was so frustrated that I was sick – but I managed to get my helmet open first!