FIM Superbike World Championship Losail International Circuit Doha, Qatar February 23, 2008 Race Two Results: 1. Fonsi NIETO (Suz GSX-R1000), 18 laps, 36:12.963 2. Ruben XAUS (Duc 1098RS), -0.301 second 3. Max BIAGGI (Duc 1098RS), -1.321 seconds 4. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 1098F08), -6.452 5. Michel FABRIZIO (Duc 1098F08), -7.627 6. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 1098RS), -9.117 7. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), -10.806 8. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000), -11.661 9. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 1098RS), -13.269 10. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR1000RR), -14.563 11. Carlos CHECA (Hon CBR1000RR), -15.953 12. Makoto TAMADA (Kaw ZX-10R), -16.748 13. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), -18.356 14. Gregorio LAVILLA (Hon CBR1000RR), -26.311 15. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), -26.560 16. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), -26.683 17. Ayrton BADOVINI (Kaw ZX-10R), -26.821 18. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yam YZF-R1), -28.650 19. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Hon CBR1000RR), -33.150 20. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), -36.656 21. Russell HOLLAND (Hon CBR1000RR), -42.633 22. Shuhei AOYAMA (Hon CBR1000RR), -55.352 23. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Kaw ZX-10R), -1 lap, DNF, crash 24. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), -7 laps, DNF, crash 25. Loic NAPOLEONE (Yam YZF-R1), -9 laps, DNF, crash 26. David CHECA (Yam YZF-R1), -10 laps, DNF, mechanical/retired 27. Luca MORELLI (Hon CBR1000RR), -14 laps, DNF, retired 28. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000), -18 laps, DNF, crash FIM Superbike World Championship Point Standings (after 2 of 30 races): 1. Bayliss, 38 points 2. Biaggi, 36 3. Nieto, 34 4. Xaus, 33 5. Corser, 25 6. Neukirchner, 19 7. Fabrizio, 18 8. Carlos Checa, 15 9. Smrz, 13 10. TIE, Lanzi/Sofuoglu, 10 More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: BAYLISS POWERS TO VICTORY IN RACE 1 AND LEADS THE SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER ROUND 1 IN QATAR Losail (Qatar), Saturday 23rd February: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) stormed to victory on board the Ducati 1098 F08 in the opening race of the 2008 World Superbike Championship today, a spectacular result for the team and a significant maiden win for the new F08 machine. Bayliss then narrowly missed out on a podium place in race 2, finishing fourth just ahead of team-mate Fabrizio. Young Michel Fabrizio made a determined start to his year and leaves Qatar with 18 championship points, accumulated from his tenth (race 1) and fifth (race 2) place finishes. Bayliss, with 38 points, leads the World Superbike championship after round 1 here in Qatar. Troy Bayliss (1st place – race 1) “It’s a very good start to the season for the team, exactly what we needed! Overall I’m very happy with the results. In race 1 I didn’t make the greatest start and so it took me a while to make it to the front of the pack. The last eight laps were a bit of a battle against Max but I was finally able to get past him and, although I made a couple of small mistakes, I was pretty comfortable and took the win. I would have loved to take another podium in race 2 but it wasn’t to be and I come away from this round leading the championship by 2 points so I can’t exactly complain. Now I’m ready to move on to Phillip Island where I hope to have another great weekend.” Michel Fabrizio “I wasn’t happy with race 1 as although I didn’t have any problems with the bike I wasn’t totally comfortable with my leather suit. I think I could have gone better if it hadn’t been for that issue. Race 2 went much better and although I got a bad start I was able to move up through the field from ninth to fifth place. Anyway, we’ve made a good start and I am seventh in the championship after the first round so that’s a positive start for me and the team I would say.” RACE 1: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 2. Biaggi (Ducati); 3. Corser (Yamaha); 4. Xaus (Ducati) 5. Neukirchner (Suzuki) 6. Checa (Honda) 7. Nieto (Suzuki) 8. Kagayama (Suzuki) 9. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) RACE 2: 1. Nieto (Suzuki) 2. Xaus (Ducati) 3. Biaggi (Ducati); 4. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 5. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 6. Lanzi (Ducati) POINTS (after 1 of 15 rounds): Riders -1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 38; 2. Biaggi (Ducati) 36; 3. Nieto (Suzuki) 34; 4. Xaus (Ducati) 33; 5. Corser (Yamaha) 25; 6. Neukirchner (Suzuki) 19; 7. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 18. Manufacturers – 1. Ducati 45; 2. Suzuki 36; 3. Yamaha 25; 4. Honda 16; 5. Kawasaki 5 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Dramatic season opener for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Troy Bayliss has taken the early lead in the title chase for the 2008 HANNspree Superbike World Championship at the Losail circuit in Qatar today. The Australian secured victory in race one after a brave overtaking manoeuvre on Max Biaggi just ahead of the chequered flag. However, despite a strong effort, Bayliss missed out on a podium finish in race two. Fourth place was enough to secure him the series lead ahead of Biaggi and Fonsi Nieto respectively. Within the HANNspree-supported teams, HANNspree Ten Kate Honda enjoyed a successful start to the season with two of its riders. Newcomer Carlos Checa proved himself as the best series rookie in race one after finishing in sixth position. The Spaniard passed the chequered flag in 11th place in the day’s second 18-lap race to secure eighth overall. Reigning World Supersport Champion Kenan Sofuoglu also enjoyed a strong start aboard the new HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR with 12th and 10th place finishes respectively. The Turkish rider is now in 11th position overall with ten points. However, after difficult practice and qualifying sessions, Ryuichi Kiyonari continued to struggle to get to grips with the new bike and tyres. HANNspree Honda Althea’s Roberto Rolfo built on the experience he gained in his debut season with HANNspree Ten Kate Honda in 2007. The Italian finished 11th and 15th to claim 11th place overall. Race one result 1. T. BAYLISS Ducati Xerox 36’11.468 2. M. BIAGGI Sterilgada Go Eleven +0.396 3. T. CORSER Yamaha Motor Italia +1.878 4. R. XAUS Sterilgada Go Eleven + 4.487 5. M. NEUKIRCHNER Team Alstare Suzuki +7.505 6. C. CHECA HANNspree Ten Kate Honda +9.639 7. F.NIETO Team Alstare Suzuki +9.725 8. Y. KAGAYAMA Team Alstare Suzuki +19.537 9. M. FABRIZIO Ducati Xerox +23.156 10. J.SMRZ Guandalini Racing +24.429 11. R.ROLFO HANNspree Honda Althea +27.595 12. K. SOFUOGLU Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +27.979 22. R. KIYONARI Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +43.569 Race two result 1. F. NIETO Team Alstare Suzuki 36’12.963 2. R. XAUS Sterilgada Go Eleven +0.301 3. M. BIAGGI Sterilgada Go Eleven +1.321 4. T. BAYLISS Ducati Xerox + 6.452 5. M. FABRIZIO Ducati Xerox +7.627 6. L. LANZI R. G. Team +9.117 7. T. CORSER Yamaha Motor Italia +10.806 8. M. NEUKIRCHNER Team Alstare Suzuki +11.661 9. J. SMRZ Guandalini Racing +13.269 10. K. SOFUOGLU HANNspree Ten Kate Honda +14.563 11. C. CHECA HANNspree Ten Kate Honda +15.953 15. R. ROLFO Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +16.748 19. R. KIYONARI Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +18.356 Championship standings after round one 1. T. BAYLISS 38 2. M. BIAGGI 36 3. F. NIETO 34 4. R. XAUS 33 5. T. CORSER 25 6. M. NEUKIRCHNER 19 7. M. FABRIZIO 18 8. C. CHECA 15 9. J. SMRZ 13 10. L. LANZI 10 11. K. SOFUOGLU 10 13. R. ROLFO 6 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Team Suzuki Alstare rider Fonsi Nieto took his maiden World Superbike Championship victory in the second 18-lap race at the Qatar season opener today. Despite having to start from the third row of the grid, Nieto stormed through the field to take the lead just four laps from the end. Ruben Xaus and Max Biaggi attacked him to the end but could not find any way past and the Spaniard was able to take the chequered flag by three-tenths-of-a-second. For Nieto and his team mates Yukio Kagayama and Max Neukirchner, today was a bit of a mixed day. Neukirchner led the majority of the first race, before finishing fifth. Nieto finished seventh with Kagayama one place behind in eighth. The race was won by Troy Bayliss (Ducati), with Biaggi (Ducati) second and Troy Corser (Yamaha) third. In race two Kagayama crashed out on the opening lap when he and Carlos Checa collided. He was taken to hospital with a suspected broken collarbone and will now almost certainly miss next week’s race in Phillip Island. Neukirchner finished eighth, suffering the effects of a heavy cold and grip problems. Fonsi Nieto – Race 1: 7th, Race 2: 1st: “This is my first WSBK win and my first race win since Donington in 1993! Yes, it’s been a long, long while. I’ve worked very hard in this championship and today I reaped the reward of all the hard work. Today my Suzuki Alstare bike was faster than the Ducatis, but I definitely raced with my mind today. I used the same bike with the same set-up in both races, though I did have the traction control on a harder setting in the first race and the bike was not as comfortable to ride as it was in race two. There was only five degrees difference in temperature between the two races, but the bike felt different in both races! “In the second race, I was able to conserve my bike and the tyres and finish strongly and that’s why I won. I would like to thank all the people who had faith in me and have supported me these past years. And I’d like to thank Francis and Patricia Batta, the whole team and Suzuki for all their help. I know there are people out there who didn’t think I could be a winner, but today I proved them wrong!” Max Neukirchner – Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 8th: “It was a really good feeling leading the first race for so long and I felt pretty comfortable doing it. I made a good start and led from the lights more or less and then I just kept my head down and found I was in the lead without too much of a problem. I have been suffering from some kind of a cold or something and, with about eight laps to go, I didn’t feel in very good condition. At the same time, I started getting lots of slides and the two things together allowed some riders to pass me and I ended up 5th. “In race two I changed to a softer tyre, but the grip didn’t feel so good. I made a little mistake on the brakes and I lost touch with the leaders and it was not possible to catch them again. All in all, it’s not a bad start to the season, but it could’ve been better.” Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: 8th, Race 2: DNF: “In race one, I firstly suffered a problem with tyre chatter after seven laps and the grip level also went down. Later in the race, I had some vibration exiting the turns so it was difficult to push very hard. I just kept going as fast as I could and tried to get the best result I could.” More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsports: LAVILLA IN THE POINTS IN QATAR 2008 Hannspree World Superbike Championship Rounds 1 & 2 Losail, Qatar Saturday 23rd February 2008 Paul Bird Motorsport rider Gregorio Lavilla got his World Superbike Championship challenge underway with two points scoring finishes at the Losail circuit in Qatar today. Riding the 2007 specification Vent Axia VK Honda Fireblade the Spanish rider posted a 13th place finish in race one, and followed it up with 14th in race two, despite suffering some lurid front end slides when he tried to push hard. The high winds in qualifying made finding a useable set up difficult, and that problem continued as raceday dawned relatively still, requiring some last minute changes to the machine. Lavilla had been 15th in regulation qualifying and improved to 13th in Superpole, displacing many regular WSB riders with much greater experience on Pirelli control tyres. Tyre choice and making the machine work well enough for Lavilla to compete were the main tasks facing the team this weekend, and Lavilla has another chance to score points next weekend at the next round, at Phillip Island, Australia. Gregorio Lavilla: “If we had twenty days of winter tests we could blame ourselves for not getting the set-up right, but most of our competition has been running Pirellis for three or four years. We have to develop our equipment to suit the change of tyres so we cannot expect miracles. The regular teams know how to make the tyres last. We have to forget all we know from before and begin from zero.” Paul Bird: “It’s been difficult for Greg after four years away, and it’s hard when you don’t have a Ducati. The Pirelli control tyres are the main thing; it’s difficult to get our heads around them this early. From lap seven to lap ten Greg was fastest rider on the track, then he was forced to slow. We’re disappointed because we came here to finish well inside the top ten and we haven’t done it but it won’t be long until we get the new 2008 bike.” The next round takes place at Phillip Island, Australia next weekend. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: ROUND 1 DOHA 23rd FEBRUARY 2008 RACE REVIEW 23rd February 2008, Doha (Qatar) Once more the Losail racetrack presented difficult conditions for the riders to read. The first two days of practice were messed up by the wind moving sand into the racetrack and the track had a lower temperature than expected. Despite some tests made in the last weeks the teams were asked to find a new solution to a new problem, making things even more difficult for those on new bikes. They lost valuable time due to the bad conditions and had to try out many different settings. Corser had been really fast in all the sessions and took Superpole as well, but the situation was still not completely clear. On Saturday, raceday, the conditions changed again with less wind and warmer temperatures, changing the game once more. A great race, entertaining until the very last corner. At the green light the fastest guy off the line was Neukirchner, followed by Corser and Haga on Yamahas, Biaggi and Xaus on Ducatis, Nieto, Kagayama and then Bayliss behind. This bunch of riders soon created a gap back to followers, despite riders like Rolfo, Checa and Fabrizio being in place. Different tyre choices were made, particularly on the rear, with a harder compound for Yamaha, medium for Ducati and soft for the Suzuki. On the sixth lap the first important action took place: Biaggi overtook Haga, who then crashed and rejoined in 25th position. Biaggi then overtook Corser too, and started following Neukirchner and one lap later he took the lead itself. Behind the Italian, Bayliss moved up to second. The two Ducati were followed by a Yamaha with one lap to go. Pirelli DIABLO SUPERBIKE tyres played their role at the highest level: Biaggi and Bayliss conducted the whole race with lap times under two minutes and the bikes still seemed to be stable, didn’t move around – and ultimately there was Bayliss, who passed Biaggi with only two corners to go. There was still room for a passing attempt, and Biaggi tried it, but at the end he had to accept second place. Haga finished 14th thinking already of revenge in race two. Race two was again full of excitement, with Haga and Corser away at full throttle – like in race one – followed by the Ducatis of Biaggi and Xaus and the Suzuki of Nieto. The two Yamaha couldn’t keep quite the same pace of the others, while Nieto and his Suzuki showed they were in really good shape. With higher temperatures the tyre choices were slightly different than in race one, and at the end the winner was Nieto on an “A” soft solution at the front and a “B”, medium at the rear. Nieto started from the third row, making a really great race for himself and fighting hard, especially with Biaggi and Xaus, before gaining a famous victory. The total race time was almost the same as in race one, with an even faster pace set by Nieto: 1’59.156, a new lap record on the third lap. On the podium with him were Xaus and Biaggi, on Ducatis from the Sterilgarda Go Eleven Team, while Bayliss finished fourth, ahead of his team mate Fabrizio. There is little time for celebration as the SBK circus is already on the move: tonight most of the teams will leave Qatar to go to Australia, where we are racing next weekend. More, from a press release issued by Honda: Qatar World Superbike at Losail, Saturday 23 February, 2008 World Superbike and World Supersport race report CHECA THE FASTEST HONDA RIDER AT THE SEASON OPENER Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) proved to be the highest Honda race finisher at the first round of the World Superbike Championship in Losail today, scoring sixth in race one on his 2008 Honda Fireblade, his World Superbike race debut. The Spanish rider was not quite so fortunate in race two, as he was involved in an early incident on track, and had to fight his way through the pack to 11th. He now sits eighth in the rankings, on 15 points, having qualified ninth in Superpole. Despite having little time to develop the new machine and his off track excursion, Checa was pleased with his overall performance at Qatar confident the team will quickly have him on the pace. In the second 18-lap race of the day Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Jnr CBR1000RR) showed he had made a good transition from Supersport to Superbike, going tenth, just over a second up on Checa. Sofuoglu scored 12th in race one, making both of his raceday finishes better than his 14th place in qualifying. Sofuoglu is 11th in the rankings as the championship circus leaves Doha for Phillip Island and round two next weekend. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) had a tough introduction to global Superbike racing, going 20th in Superpole, 22nd in race one and 19th in race two. Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR) posted two points scoring finishes at Losail, 11th in race one and 15th in race two, on a machine which the team has not been able to test extensively before race weekend. Gregorio Lavilla (Vent Axia VK Honda CBR1000RR) was another double points scorer, thanks to 13th in race one and 14th in race two. Like many of the riders new to the 2008 season, he has had to take some time to adjust to different tyres from those he has been used to recently. For Karl Muggeridge (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) and Russell Holland (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) the Losail weekend was particularly hard, as neither made it into Superpole, nor scored any points on raceday. Shuhei Aoyama (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) was last in each of his first World Superbike races, finding a Superbike heavy to turn and a real handful after a career spent mostly on 250GP-style machines. Luca Morelli (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) finished neither race, retiring in the pits on each occasion. Carlos Checa, said: “I feel comfortable overall after my first races. We have to work on the bike’s chassis, but considering the bike has only just arrived and it’s our first race I’m quite positive. I think we can become even more competitive this year. I touched Kagayama on the first lap of the second race when he tried to overtake me and nearly crashed. There was no room for the two of us and I had to go through the gravel and start again from the back of the field. Unfortunately this deprived me of my chance to try and make it closer to the front. The bike was feeling a lot better then it did in race one. The lap times have proved that we can do a lot better.” Kenan Sofuoglu said: “My feeling is coming better and now I am starting to understand the Superbike. The biggest problem I have is that I am too tired and at the end of the race I think my pace dropped by half a second. I feel that I already made a good step between the first and second race so I am happy. Today I started from a long way back on the grid and got a top ten, so I am happy.” Roby Rolfo said: “I wasn’t as satisfied with my position in the second race as I was in the first, but the lap times were better than in race one. My start wasn’t the best and I didn’t feel I had the rear grip to overtake as many riders as I wanted to. We still have a lot of work to do but we are going in the right direction.” Ryuichi Kiyonari said: “It’s been difficult to make a good setting and we must make it better. I had some problem with tyres, but it is also the rider as I am not fast enough. My setting on the bike is different from Carlos and from Kenan but I am having lots of little problems in all areas of the bike, which is making it difficult for me to go fast.” Gregorio Lavilla said: “Today I haven’t been racing, I’ve just been riding. After ten laps when I was chasing the group I had three big front end slides and I had to slow down. We need to understand the tyres in this class a lot before we can start to make good results.” Shuhei Aoyama said: “It is very difficult in this class and the bike is a lot heavier to move around than the 250, and much faster. It was difficult to choose tyres and settings, so we need more experience before we can understand it all.” More, from a press release issued by Team YZF Yamaha: First advantage for Bayliss and Nieto The first two races of the season were victories for Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki). The new 1200 cc Ducati showed its ambitions when finishing for instance with five bikes in the top six. Shinichi Nakatomi, 21st of the first event, was unlucky in the second race when he had to retire early. During the warm up session, Nakatomi did the 21st time in 2’01.468, which was quicker than during the qualifying session. This result provided good hope for the races. At the beginning of race 1, Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) took the lead in front of Troy Corser (Yamaha), Max Biaggi (Ducati) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha). After the first six laps (the first third of the race) Neukirchner was still leading in front of Corser, Haga, Biaggi and Troy Bayliss (Ducati). Nakatomi was 22nd. Unfortunately, Haga crashed on the next lap and had to restart with a big handicap. Max Biaggi was the new leader after 12 laps (two thirds of the race) in front of Neukirchner, Corser and Bayliss. On the finish line, Troy Bayliss won the first race of this season, followed by Max Biaggi, Troy Corser, Ruben Xaus and Max Neukirchner. Nakatomi finished in 22nd position. It was a very good start in race 2 for the Yamaha riders, Corser and Haga leading Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) and Bayliss. On the 6th of the 18 laps, the same four riders were in the front, with Xaus and Bayliss behind them. Then on lap 12 Xaus took the advantage with Biaggi, Bayliss and Nieto behind him. Finally on the finish line, Nieto was the winner, Xaus second and Biaggi third, in front of Bayliss and Fabrizio. Team-manager Martial Garcia: “Shinichi Nakatomi after finishing 21st of the first race had the bad luck to run out of the track in the beginning of race 2 to avoid an other rider. Courageously, he restarted behind the pack, but he had to retire because the bike was slightly damaged.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Corser Takes Race One Podium to Add to Superpole Win Troy Corser had mixed fortunes on raceday at Losail, taking a fine third in race one but slipping backwards in race two to finish seventh as his tyres lost grip at half race distance. His team-mate Noriyuki Haga recovered from a crash in race one to secure an eventual 14th, and he was also in a leading position for much of race two, before the same lack of traction experienced by Corser made him drop through the field. He ended up 13th. Corser, the Superpole winner yesterday, was in sparkling early form in each race, looking set for a double podium finish at least. Haga ‘s race one crash came after Max Biaggi made a strong pass on the Japanese rider, and forced him wide, off the ideal racing line. Haga had set the best lap of the race in the first 18-lap contest, with a 1’59.217, before the lap record was broken in race two, by race winner Fonsi Nieto. Troy Bayliss won the first race, from Max Biaggi. Corser now leaves the Losail circuit fifth in the championship chase, on 25 points, with Haga 14th on five points. Troy Corser (3rd and 7th – Yamaha Italy WSB Team) “We made a tyre change between race one and race two just to be on the same tyres as everyone else. But it wasn’t better it was worse. There was just no grip after a while and you can’t race when you can’t push hard. I’m really disappointed after getting Superpole yesterday, and it was obvious we had the speed to be competitive. That’s about all I can say.” Noriyuki Haga (14th and 13th – Yamaha Italy WSB Team) “Not such a great day after we started so well in each race. In the first race Biaggi took my front tyre and what can I say, it was a mistake. In race two I was following Troy and saving my time until the end but after nine laps I had chatter from the rear, then more the next lap, then it started moving, then there was no grip and I could not push any more. My wrist is sore so I have to rest that before the next race.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “This morning we made a choice of harder tyres, and this afternoon we went to the softer tyres of the other riders. Troy said that the traction was not enough in race one, so we decided to go with the ones that gave more performance. After ten laps, they were gone.” Shinichi Nakatomi (21st and DNF – Team YZF Yamaha) “There was nothing I could do in race one because the tyre choice didn’t give me any drive. In race two it started OK but then I was forced off the track. Disappointing but it is a strange circuit here.” Martial Garcia(Team Manager, Team YZF Yamaha) “We were only in 21st position in race one because Shinichi chose a C tyre, the same as many riders, but it didn’t have enough grip. In the second race somebody crashed in front of him and went into to gravel and rejoined after 30 seconds had passed. He carried on to test the tyre but when the grip dropped down he pulled in.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: PODIUM IN RACE ONE, THEN TYRE WOES After a tremendous Superpole lap yesterday and the recent very productive tests at the circuit, Troy was disappointed not to finish on the podium in both today’s pair of 18-lap races. He took a superb third in the first race and finished seventh in the second. In both races Troy suffered some sort of tyre problems but in race two his tyres lost so much grip that he nearly crashed. Troy was philosophical about proceedings today, but he was also very frustrated. Troy Bayliss gave the new 1200cc Ducati its debut win in the opening race,with Max Biaggi (Ducati) second and Troy third. Spaniard Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) won race two, with Xaus (Ducati) second and Biaggi third. Troy, Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 7th It was another frustrating day for me today because I really believed, after our recent tests here and yesterday’s qualifying and Superpole, two podiums would be possible. In race one I used the hardest front and rear tyre available (I was the only one with this choice) and the tyres were pretty consistent, but they didn’t allow me to go any faster! They were OK early on, then dropped and then dropped again and that was enough to prevent me from challenging the front two. I talked with the tyre people after race one and changed for race two. These ones only lasted ten laps and after that I had many, many slides and nearly crashed a couple of times. I just had to keep going as best I could, and that’s what I did. In a way, I suppose I lucky because I managed to finish the race. More, from a press release issued by PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse: TAMADA AND LACONI SCORE POINTS ON NEW KAWASAKI Doha/Losail, Quatar, 23 February 2008 Makoto Tamada (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) finished 12th in race two at Losail, shortly after his team-mate Régis Laconi had secured a point in race one. TAMADA AND LACONI SCORE POINTS ON NEW KAWASAKI Tamada had been forced out of race one with a technical problem but charged hard from a lowly starting position, passing many riders on the first few laps on his new model Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Laconi battled hard in each race, earning a 15th place finish for himself in race one, missing a point in race two by just one place. He suffered from having an imperfect machine set-up going into the race, which prevented him from making progress through the field. The 18-lap races were won by Troy Bayliss and Fonsi Nieto and were held in dry and sunny conditions, with the strong winds that blighted qualifying much less powerful today. Makoto Tamada: “It was a good end to the race weekend to finish in the points in race two. We had a lot of chattering from the bike on the first two days, and also this morning, but in the races it was a lot less. We had a technical problem in race one, but race two I started well, and the lap average was not so bad.” Régis Laconi: “A lot better than qualifying but not what me or anyone in the team really wants. We had so many problems with chattering and it is hard to ride the bike like that. It has been hard to get rid of it. I tried my best in the races, and we tried a few different settings in the suspension in race two, but with little effect.”